Premiums of up to €1,142/ha for planting trees will be available under the EU approved afforestation scheme as part of the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027.
A €308 million Irish scheme to support investments in afforestation has been approved by the European Commission today (Wednesday, August 2).
The approved afforestation measure is part of Ireland’s new €1.3 billion Forestry Programme 2023-2027 and will open for new applications in the coming weeks.
Welcoming the commission’s decision, Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) with responsibility for forestry, Senator Pippa Hackett said:
“The commission’s approval of our afforestation programme is a hugely significant milestone in our longer term vision out to 2050 to increase our forest cover as a critical part of the state’s Climate Action Plan.”
The programme has been designed so that planting trees can deliver for farm incomes, climate, biodiversity, water quality, recreation, rural economies, and for the production of high-quality timber for use in homes and other buildings, she added.
Afforestation scheme
The new programme provides for increased premiums for planting trees of up to €1,142/ha depending on the forest type, as well as extending the premium period from 15 to 20 years for farmers.
Non-farmers will receive premiums for 15 years. The programme also offers a broad range of planting options and the rates are 46-66% higher than previously, the DAFM said.
“Farmers are absolutely central to the success of our overall forestry strategy,” Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue commented.
“Reflecting that ambition, our new Forestry Programme is designed to attract and reward farmers ahead of any other landowners.
“This government’s policy is to provide farmers with the biggest opportunity to benefit from the forestry payments this programme can deliver,” the minister said today.
While acknowledging that the confidence in the sector has been “damaged”, he said that the new programme will “reinvigorate the sector and support our climate action targets”.
Forestry Programme
The DAFM will now study the detail of the commission’s decision, complete the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment process, and open the scheme for new applications in the coming weeks.
A series of information and training workshops for stakeholders will be conducted by the DAFM so that all those submitting applications will be fully aware of the benefits, and the terms and conditions, he said.
“I believe we will look back on it in years to come as a key point in the history of Irish forestry, with newer practices like agroforestry and continuous cover forestry becoming mainstream, and farmers choosing to plant native, mixed-broadleaf forests at a much greater scale than ever before.
“I would encourage farmers to look seriously at forestry as an option to complement their existing farming enterprise,” Minister Hackett said.