Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2022
733. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 478, 479 and 480 of 13 October 2022, if he will confirm that his Department has received only two applications for the ash dieback RUS scheme in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52743/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince the first finding of ash dieback disease in Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has provided support totalling over €7m to owners of ash plantations impacted by ash dieback disease through the ash dieback reconstitution scheme (introduced in 2013) and more recently the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (Ash Dieback) introduced in July 2020.
The current scheme provides 100% grant aid to landowners to clear their ash crop, replant with an alternate species and manage their forest until successfully established.
This year to date nearly €850,000 has been paid out in site clearance and replanting grants under the RUS Scheme. In 2022, we have received 42 applications to date and 833 applications in total for 3,161 hectares since the scheme opened in 2020.
Of these 327 for 1,083 hectares have been approved, with one refusal. This means that there remains 505 applications for 2,068 hectares on hand, and I assure Deputies that we are focussed on dealing with these.
