Forestry owners impacted by ash dieback are being urged to join a protest outside Leinster House this week.
The demonstration taking place on Wednesday morning (May 29) is being organisation by the Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners (LTWO).
The group has said it is shocked at the government’s refusal to implement the recommendations of an independent review on ash dieback.
The review – which was commissioned by Minister of State for land use and biodiversity Pippa Hackett – said that ash dieback requires a state-led national and rapid coordinated response.
Ash dieback
Last month, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) announced a long-awaited package of supports worth €79 million for those impacted by ash dieback.
It included improved grant rates for clearing and replanting, as well as a separate €5,000/ha payment for those who engage in clearing and replanting.
There will also be a 100% increase in the site clearance grant rate, from €1,000 to €2,000, under the Forestry Programme.
The chair of the LTWO Simon White welcomed the government’s recognition that ash growers should be compensated for a loss they were not responsible for and were powerless to prevent.
However, White believes that the government “have botched this opportunity to resolve this crisis”.
“The patience of ash growers has run out and they are losing confidence in the minister,” he said.
LTWO claimed that clearance grants are capped at €2000/ha but quotes for clearance are running at €6,500/ha so farmers will have to borrow money to clear their land.
It added that compensation of €5000/ha does not compare with the typical loss of €40,000/ha, according to independent forestry valuation.
The group said that compensation needs to be linked to the age of the forest and take an individual approach to each woodland.
“This one-size-fits-all approach is both inequitable and wrong,” it said.
“Enough is enough, LTWO are inviting all affected ash growers and all groups interested in the future of forestry to join them in a protest outside Leinster House at 11:30am on Wednesday, May 29 to demand the immediate implementation of the ash dieback review report recommendations in full,” White said.