The Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) with responsibility for forestry, Pippa Hackett has announced the commencement of the 2021 forestry premium payments to landowners.
Referring to the annual premium – which is paid to landowners who have planted trees on their land under the department’s afforestation scheme – the minister said: “I am delighted to see these payments going out so early in the year. We simply must plant more trees and the size and timeliness of these payments demonstrate the extent to which woodland creation is a profitable and sustainable land use option for farmers and other landowners.
“They are also evidence of my department’s commitment to landowners who undertake it under our planting schemes.”
Thousands of farmers
This week’s payment run will see just under €30 million paid out to 8,300 landowners.
The department has said that the payments are annual tax-free premiums which can be made early in the year due to its fully online system which delivers a simpler application process and a faster turnaround time.
Pointing to the benefits to farmers of planting trees, the minister added: “I would encourage all landowners to consider planting more forestry on part of their land to diversify their income.
“Woodland creation is a profitable and sustainable land use option. It gives a guaranteed 15 year annual premium.
“There are a range of options available under the national forestry programme and I would like to see all interested farmers looking at options for their land for 2021 discussing forestry and woodland as options with their agri-advisor,” minister Hackett said.
Breakdown of payments
Breakdown of payments per county (forest location):
