The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has confirmed that an estimated €9.25 million in grants have been paid out to date on ash dieback schemes over the last 10 years.
Two schemes were previously launched in 2013 and 2020 to provide financial support to forest owners who were impacted by ash dieback which is a disease caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus.
The schemes aimed to to restore forests “planted under the afforestation scheme” which had suffered from or were affected by the disease.
According to Minister Charlie McConalogue there were 15,897/ha of grant aided ash planted in Ireland between 1990 and 2013.
The first confirmation of ash dieback disease in Ireland was in 2012 at a forestry plantation site which had been planted in 2009 with trees imported from continental Europe, it is now believed that around 90% of ash trees could be impacted by the disease.
In response to a number of questions tabled recently by TDs in relation to ash dieback – including the chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Fianna Fáil TD, Jackie Cahill – the minister said his department was continuing to “review” the effectiveness of ash dieback schemes.
Referring to the schemes Minister McConalogue added:
“A total of €9.25 million has been expended to date on both schemes. These schemes included a grant for site clearance as well as replanting.”
According to Minister McConalogue “intervention” in relation to ash dieback under the support schemes has so far been grant aided for more than 2,800/ha.
He also highlighted that a new scheme for the “reconstitution of ash dieback” will be launched as part of the government’s proposed new €1.3 billion Forestry Programme which is subject to state aid approval by the European Commission before it can be implemented in Ireland.
In the meantime a new interim reconstitution scheme for ash dieback was launched in March which Minister McConalogue said includes:
- Enhanced site clearance grant rate, increased to €2,000;
- Enhanced grant rates as per draft forestry programme 2023-2027.
“This scheme is available to 154 current approvals covering an area of 477/ha. To date, 14 of those eligible have applied for this scheme for an area of 65/ha,” the minister outlined.
Minister McConalogue has also detailed that there are a further 589 applications seeking approval which represent 2,534/ha which are currently being processed and which he said “will be able to avail of the new programme scheme when approved”.
According to the minister he has “regularly met with landowners whose forests have ash dieback” and farming organisations and is aware of their concerns.