The allocation to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Budget 2025 will include funding of €91 million for forestry, Minister of State for land use and biodiversity Pippa Hackett has said.
This figure is a decrease on the allocation in Budget 2024 for this year, which was €110 million.
Minister Hackett said: “We have a budget of €1.3 billion behind the Forestry Programme 2023 to 2027 and this is the means by which we will implement our Forestry Strategy over the next three years.
“Since the programme opened, my department has issued licences for new afforestation for a total of over 6,000ha. Thanks to investment in increased operational efficiencies we have the capacity to issue sufficient licences to meet the Climate Action Plan target of 8,000ha of new forests.
“The funding of €91 million secured for forestry in Budget 2025 will underpin the diverse range of tree planting options on offer through the Forestry Programme, among other schemes, and I would strongly encourage farmers to explore the many different options under the programme,” Minister Hackett added.
Commenting on other funding areas under her remit, Minister Hackett said that the budget reflects the government’s commitment to the growth of organic farming.
Organic farming measures will be funded to the tune of €67 million next year, which will facilitate the opening of the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) to new applicants in the near future.
This funding allocation is an increase on the €57 million announced for the same purpose in last year’s budget.
Minister Hackett said that €3.5 million will also be put towards the Organic Processing Investment Grant (OPIG) Scheme.
For the horticulture sector, the minister said that €8.5 million has been secured through the department’s Budget 2025 allocation.
Minister Hackett also confirmed that horticultural growers who planted the declared field grown crops in 2024 on their Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application will receive the €100/ha tillage payment that was confirmed as part of this budget.
“This overall allocation builds on our support for the horticulture sector in recent years and will drive further investment, innovation and diversification for the benefit of producers and consumers,” she said.
Other key measures outlined by Minister Hackett include:
- €2.75 million for the red clover silage and multi-species sward measures;
- €6 million for phase 3 of the National Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme (which the minister indicated would be open for applications later this month);
- €500,000 for the Rural Innovation Development Fund (the majority of which will go towards increasing the budget for social farming initiatives).