Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2022
734. 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, the length of time that the applications for the reconstitution and underplanting scheme were applied for prior to his Department issuing 120 further information requests in the past two weeks in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52744/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince the first finding of ash dieback disease in Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAF) 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. We received 833 applications in total for 3,161 hectares. 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 the Deputy that we are focussed on dealing with these.
We continue to process to approval those cases which are not affected by the requirement for planning permission. The legislation to remove the requirement for planning permission for Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme projects less than 10 ha in size is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and concerns projects where broadleaves are replaced with conifers.
That Department has completed the first stage in the Strategic Environment Assessment screening process and notified the prescribed statutory consultees on 22nd September 2022. Those statutory consultees have four weeks to respond to the notice. An Appropriate Assessment screening process is also currently being undertaken in parallel by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s Ecological Assessment Unit.
I am hopeful that this legislative change will be put in place once these processes are finalised.
Even where planning permission is not required i.e. in cases where broadleaf replaces broadleaf, we need complete applications and we have in recent weeks sent out 132 further information requests to applicants, specifically in relation to broadleaf-to-broadleaf plantations; predominantly requesting harvest plans and reforestation maps. These are now being submitted and we will process them as we receive them. The breakdown of these further information requests is as follows:
Length of time with the Department:
|
Total |
<=120 days |
121 days - 6 months |
7-12 months |
>=13 months |
|
132 |
0 |
40 |
25 |
67 |
It is intended to continue to offer the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme through the next Forestry Programme which will cover the period from 2023-2027, and as Deputies will be aware,the Programme is currently undergoing public consultation as part of the SEA/AA process. I have of course met with landowners whose forests have ash dieback and I am more than aware of their concerns and I will continue to work to address them.
