Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2024
81. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the area of land where forestry was planted last year; the amount expected to be planted this year; if there are specific measures in place to increase the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18353/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra93. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the level of new afforestation in the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024; and his target afforestation for the remainder of 2024. [17715/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 81 and 93 together.
It is the case that there has been a decline in afforestation in recent years. In 2020 2,434 hectares of land were afforested, with 2,061 hectares in 2021, 2,273 hectares in 2022 and 1,651 hectares in 2023.
The Afforestation target for 2024 is 8,000 hectares, and to date this year my Department has received notification of intention to plant over 1,300 hectares. Furthermore there are nearly 3,000 hectares already approved and available for planting immediately under the new Programme. Some 300 hectares have been planted and paid for to date in 2024, with applications for payment being submitted and paid on a weekly basis.
The new Forestry Programme aims to reverse the decline in planting by offering attractive and diverse options for planting, especially for farmers. This government has committed €1.3 billion to the Programme, which is the best-funded and most environmentally friendly programme to date.
The new Afforestation Scheme offers landowners a choice of 12 Forest Types which cover a broad range of planting options including Native Woodland, Continuous Cover Forestry and Emergent Forests. It provides generous incentives to farmers in particular, to re-engage with forestry. These include increases in premium rates ranging from between 46% to 66%, along with a longer premium term of 20 years for farmers, compared to 15 years for non-farmers, across most Forest Types.
Afforestation is a voluntary land use choice for landowners and building confidence among landowners of the benefits of forestry will be key to increasing afforestation rates on recent low trends. In order to encourage uptake we have engaged in extensive promotion of the forestry options available including funding 42 stakeholder projects. These projects will promote the Forestry Programme through a wide variety of approaches and will engage with the wider community to highlight the benefits of forests as a source of biodiversity, enjoyment and inspiration.
A targeted media campaign has been underway across all media and will continue throughout 2024. In addition, more than 1,000 people attended 20 Teagasc-led in-person meetings for the public on the new afforestation scheme throughout the country and Teagasc will continue to promote forestry.
My Department has the capacity to issue sufficient licences to meet the annual target of 8,000 hectares and we have put additional resources in place to do so. I recognise that planting at this scale is a challenge but believe that it is in all our interests to work towards this target. It will require a concerted and united effort from all those interested in forestry across communities, public bodies, the forestry sector and farmers to make this a reality.
