Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 November 2022
788. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current number of hectares of afforestation in the State; the percentage of land cover this comprises; if these figures are inclusive of forestry impacted by ash dieback; the total number of hectares impacted by ash dieback within the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59187/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe area of forest is 808,848 ha or 11.6% of the total land area of Ireland (National Forest Inventory 2022). These figures are inclusive of the 15,897 hectares of Ash plantations. The Deputy will be aware that my Department operates the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme RUS (Ash Dieback) to assist ash plantation owners to deal with the impact of ash dieback disease.
Since 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.
