Holly Cairns
Question:912. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of tree planting applications approved by his Department from 2020 to date, by year, in tabular form. [35872/23]
View answerTuesday, 25 July 2023
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Written answers
The new and ambitious €1.3bn Forestry Programme 2023-2027 will replace the previous Programme which expired at the end of 2022. The new Programme will benefit farmers, rural communities and the overall climate and environment.
Subject to State Aid approval from the European Commission and the completion of the ongoing Strategic Environmental Assessment/Appropriate Assessment (SEA/AA) process, this will support the largest, most farmer-friendly investment in forestry in the history of the State. This funding will provide unprecedented incentives to encourage the planting of trees that can provide a valuable addition to farm income and also to help meet our national climate and biodiversity objectives.
While we await State Aid approval only licences for non-grant-aided afforestation licences can be approved. This is reflected in the number approved year to date in the table below:
|
Year |
Afforestation licences issued |
Hectares |
|
2020 |
528 |
4,342 |
|
2021 |
502 |
4,246 |
|
2022 |
702 |
4,972 |
|
2023 |
10 (non-grant aided) |
140 |
In recognition of the need for forestry activity to continue, and pending the launch of the new Programme, my Department engaged with the Commission last December to secure an interim solution which has led to the introduction of an Interim Afforestation Scheme. This ensured that those with valid afforestation licences issued before the end of 2022 could avail of the current planting season under the higher grant and premium rates proposed under the new Programme. Under the Interim De Minimis scheme, 288 afforestation applications, have been approved, representing 1,750 hectares.
Afforestation applications that were applied for before 31 December, 2022 and which are not yet decided, are continuing to be processed with the aim that they can transition into the new Programme once it opens.
I would like to assure the Deputy that the receipt of formal State Aid approval and the launch of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 is a matter of the utmost priority for my Department.