The Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) published 101 appeal decisions relating to 66 licence decisions last year.

The FAC is an independent appeals body for anybody who wishes to challenge the decision of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to grant a licence for forestry planting, felling or road construction.

According to the FAC report for 2023, 97% of the determinations made by the committee were to set aside licence decisions.

The data shows that in 17% of the decisions made by the committee, the appeal was allowed.

For 80%, the application was set aside and sent back to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for processing due to significant or serious errors which had been identified.

These errors may have related to mapping or environmental screening, while some were technical in nature, such as quoting an incorrect address.

The committee affirmed the decision to grant the forestry licence in the remaining 3% of appeals.

The report shows that the majority (69%) of the decided appeals related to afforestation licences, 20% to felling licences and 11% to forestry roads.

Forestry

Since the FAC was established in 2018, the number of appeals significantly increased year-on-year to 2020.

The numbers reduced during 2021 following the introduction of the legislative changes in October 2020.

The amendments introduced by the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2020 resulted in the establishment of additional divisions of the FAC to deal with appeals in a more expeditious manner.

Throughout 2023, four divisions of the FAC heard 104 appeals against 74 licences, there were two appeals where an oral hearing was deemed necessary.

The committee said that a forestry licence may be subject to one or more appeals.

The FAC noted that the delay in the introduction of the new Forestry Programme is likely to have impacted on the volume of licences issued and consequently the number of appeals it received during 2023.

On January 1, 2023, there were 100 appeals on hand that concerned 77 licence decisions, all of which were carried over from the previous years.

During 2023 there were 99 appeals received against 80 licence decisions.

The committee said that 56 appeals were invalidated or withdrawn, leaving 43 valid appeals received against 41 licence decisions.

Appeals

The report shows that from the date an appeal is heard to the date parties involved received a decision took on average 55 days during 2023.

The FAC said that this period has varied from case to case, depending on matters such as the nature and complexity of the grounds of appeal lodged.

Entering into 2024, the committee said that the skillset of its membership is “appropriate to address the volume and complexity of appeals being made”.

However, it was noted that the makeup of the committee will be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure there continues to be adequate capacity to address appeals.

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Minister of State for land use and biodiversity Pippa Hackett has published the latest Annual Forest Statistics Report for 2024, saying there is a “clear need” to pick up the pace of afforestation.

The annual report, prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, provides an annual compilation on Ireland’s forest sector and the forest industry.

The department said these statistics provide stakeholders with a “repository of reliable and transparent information about the forest sector over the past year”.

Commenting on the report, Minister Hackett said: “This annual report provides vital information for researchers, students and practitioners who wish to understand where the sector sits in our overall national economic picture.

“Clearly the pace at which we are expanding our forest estate needs to increase substantially.

“The impact of the length of the state aid approval process for the new Forestry Programme is reflected in the afforestation figures for last year, with afforestation under the new Forestry Programme only beginning in September 2023,” she added.

The minister said that over 4,000ha had been made available for planting by the forest service since then, which she said she expects would result in increased afforestation figures for 2024.

“While afforestation is ultimately a voluntary land use choice and there is much competition for land in the current market, the significantly increased funding in place for the new programme, combined with efficiencies in the licencing process, make afforestation a highly attractive for farmers and landowners,” she said.

According to the report, total expenditure on forest activities, including maintenance grants, grants for forest road infrastructure, annual premium payments and supports for the afforestation of 1,651ha, was €73.8 million in 2023.

The percentage of broadleaves in new forests created during 2023 was 54%, which is the first time that the proportion of broadleaves planted exceeded conifer tree planting.

2023 also saw the construction of 78km of private forest roads, an increase of 8km over 2022.

Other standout 2023 statistics from the report include:

• The greatest afforestation took place in Co. Roscommon with 189ha, followed by Co. Galway with 139ha;
• The percentage of land afforested by farmers during 2023 was 47%, which was up from 23% in the previous year;
• In 2023, 57% of the area afforested was by those aged 60 years or more and for those in receipt of premium payments, 61% were aged 60 years or more;
• In 2023, a total of 3.5t of pedunculate oak seed was sown in forestry nurseries, equating to over 3.4 million plants. The other main broadleaf species were downy birch and common alder. The main conifer species included Sitka spruce, Scots pine and lodgepole pine;
• During 2023, felling licences were issued for the thinning of 8,144ha and the clearfelling of 24,444ha;
• Approximately half of Ireland’s forest estate is certified by international non-governmental organisations to promote good forest practice. The vast majority of this area is in the public forest estate, with 33,064ha of private forests currently certified;
• In 2022 Ireland’s forests removed 2.4m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, an increase of 0.34m tonnes compared to 2021.

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The countryside is “full of dead ash trees, many of which are by roadsides” which in turn could pose a “serious risk”, a TD has told the Dáil.

The Fine Gael TD for Cork east, David Stanton, also highlighted that dead trees “are extraordinarily dangerous”.

“If a tree falls down on a road at night, someone could drive into it.

” I have seen trees that have already fallen, the damage they can cause and the dangers they pose. I notice more and more of them around the country,” he said.

Deputy Stanton called on the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Martin Heydon, to “instruct local authorities to carry out surveys and if trees are found that are obviously dead and could easily fall in a gale, that they notify the landowner that they have to be removed”.

Trees

In response Minister Heydon told the Dáil this week that landowners have the “primary responsibility” to ensure that trees, hedges and other vegetation growing on their land are not a danger to people using a public road.

The minister also detailed that landowners have to take all reasonable steps to ensure that “a tree in a roadside verge on their land is not a hazard and does not fall on that road and either hit vehicles or act as an obstruction that could be crashed into afterwards”.

He also stated that removal of dead or dying trees is a matter for Local Authorities and landowners but did acknowledge that this can be a “major challenge” for farmers and landowners particularly in relation to ash dieback.

“It is incumbent on all landowners, then, to recognise their responsibility, especially concerning trees on roads that create this type of hazard, and ensure their trees are sound.

“They must not only do this via visual inspection but through a more physical inspection too,” Minister Heydon said. 

But Deputy Stanton also highlighted to the minister that there could be a considerable cost to farmers if they have to deal with a problem.

“It is also a dangerous job because if a tree is dead and rotten and an attempt is made to try to knock it down, it ends up being more dangerous than a healthy tree.

“I want to see every bit of caution being taken to take these trees out because they are a danger,” he added.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued 243 afforestation licences relating to 2,008ha so far this year.

This figure is in line with the first six months of 2022 when licences for 2020ha were issued.

It also marks a significant improvement on the same period last year when licences for just 136ha were granted.

The Forestry Licencing Plan 2024 estimates that 1,000 afforestation applications would be the required to meet planting targets.

The latest Forestry Dashboard, published by the department, shows that 359 valid afforestation applications had been submitted up to last Friday (June 21).

Afforestation

The department data shows that 656ha of land had been afforested up to June 21.

The DAFM notes that this only reflects afforestation that as been paid at first grant stage this year to date, including the Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS).

Reacting to the figures, the Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association (SEEFA) said that it has taken almost six months to achieve what should be “the average monthly pace”.

“This disappointingly low figure is a clear result of DAFM’s mismanagement of the sector, marked by years of insufficient licensing and ineffective marketing and promotional efforts.

“Landowners and farmers communicate with SEEFA members and are ready and willing to plant.

“However, lacklustre incentives, untenable barriers to plant, and uncertainty over licencing are causing unnecessary blockages,” the organisation said.

In 2022, 2,273ha of forestry was planted, this figure dropped to 1,652ha last year.

Forest cover in Ireland represents 11.6% of the total land area in comparison to the EU average of 38%.

The government has set an annual target of 8,000ha of new forests to be planted in order to increase the national forestry area to 18%.

DAFM

The latest department figures show that 895 felling licences relating to almost 10,800ha had been issued by June 21, which includes 544 private licences and 351 for Coillte.

In the week up to last Friday, the department issued 11 thinning licences for 199ha and 56 clear fell licences covering 523ha.

453 licences have also been granted so far this year by the department for 166km of forestry roads.

The data shows that 250 NTAS applications have been issued for 273ha, while 155 applications (599ha) under the Deer Tree Shelter Scheme (DTS) have been approved.

444 applications submitted for the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme have been granted, covering 1,658ha

DAFM has received 29 afforestation appeals, tree felling appeals and four forest roads appeals to date this year.

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The area of new forestry planted by farmers accounted for 47% of total afforestation in 2023, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The figures published today (Tuesday, June 25) shows that 1,651ha was afforested last year, a 27% decrease from the 2,273ha planted in 2022.

The CSO data is based on analysis of the area afforested under Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) schemes.

Afforestation is the planting of trees on land not previously under forest.

Afforestation

Last year, farmers planted 773ha of trees, non-farmers planted 877ha, while the public sector was responsible for 2ha.

There were 287 afforestation parcels in 2023, which an average size of 5.8ha. In 2022, there were 309 parcels with an average size of 7.4ha.

The data shows that broadleaf species comprised 54% (899ha) of the 2023 afforestation area, up from 42% in the previous year.

This marks the first year that broadleaf species have comprised the majority of species planted since the CSO series began.

Sitka spruce accounted for 39% of the 2023 afforestation area with 636ha of the species planted.

CSO

The CSO data shows that afforestation rates have been on a downward trajectory since 2016, apart from a slight increase in 2022.

The highest annual afforestation area was recorded in 2010 when 8,314ha was planted.

Niamh Shanahan, statistician in the CSO environment division, said the report shows the area afforested in 2023 was just 24% of the area planted in 2007 (6,947ha).

“The share of afforested area planted by farmers in 2023 was 47% which was a large increase on their 2022 share of 23%, but a sharp decline from their 2014 share of 97%.

“Alder and ash were the main broadleaf species planted during 2007 to 2013 while alder and birch were the main species from 2015 to 2023.

“Sitka Spruce was the dominant conifer species and comprised 84% of coniferous species in 2023,” she said.

“The highest average parcel size of afforested area over the 2007-2023 period was 8.4 ha in 2009.

“In 2023 it was 5.8 ha which was the lowest average parcel size across the 2007-2023 period,” Shanahan added.

The CSO data shows that Roscommon had the highest county share of the total afforested area in 2023 at 11% or 189ha.

This was followed by Galway with 139ha (8.4%), Mayo on 131ha (7.9%), and Cork, which had 127ha (7.7%).

There was no afforestation recorded in Dublin in 2023, while the lowest rates were reported in Monaghan (10ha), Wexford (14ha) and Waterford (19ha).

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The benefits of planting trees on farms were discussed during a farm walk focused on agroforestry in Co. Kerry this week.

Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use practices where trees are combined with crops or animals on the same unit of land.

Thomas and Claire O’Connor, who hosted the farm walk, have owned Manna Organic Farm in Camp, Co. Kerry for the past 17 years.

The 25ac farm integrates agroforestry principles with vegetable plots surrounded by shelter trees and a 4ac permaculture field featuring fruit trees and shrubs.

A further 4ac is dedicated to terraced agroforestry with soft fruit bushes and trees such as willow, birch, and sycamore.

The farm also includes around 13ac of native woodland, around 60% of which is oak, which was planted around 14 years ago.

The O’Connors are certified organic farmers and place great importance on a “good healthy eco-system” in which to grow “nutrient dense” food.

The couple also run an organic shop in nearby Tralee allowing them to sell their horticulture produce directly to customers.

The farm produces salads, kale, scallions, onions, leeks, garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes.

“We tend to grow stuff that is the freshest that we can bring into the shop and then we also buy from other local producers and we import. Everything that we sell in our store is certified organic,” Thomas told Agriland.

Due to the exposed location of the farm on the Dingle Peninsula, Thomas knew that trees would play an important role by providing shelter to crops and animals and improving soil fertility by recycling nutrients.

The trees also produce by-products, such as fruit and wood, offering an additional income stream.

“We’re on the side of a mountain and the fact that we can get trees to grow here is really good,” he said.

“In our horticultural area in the heatwaves we never have a problem with water because the hedgerows and the ditches end up creating dew in the morning so there’s always plenty of moisture,” he added.

Similar to other farms, Thomas admits that there has been “a certain element of trial and error” when it comes to trees.

“You learn through your mistakes but you can actually learn a lot by going and meeting farmers, going to people that have the expertise and seeing what they have done in person,” he said.

Agroforestry

This week’s event was part of a series of farm walks around the country being organised by the Irish Agroforestry Forum.

The walks aim to highlight how introducing trees into farming systems can enhance biodiversity, improve animal welfare and soil health and contribute to climate change mitigation.

As part of the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027, agroforestry planting is supported through a range of funding and premiums.

It should be noted that where farmers plant under the agroforestry scheme, the converted land will be classified by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) as forestry.

“The schemes are fantastic because they can give you the establishment and help you with the fencing and the set up in the first place. But you should plant trees anyway because they bring other values to the farm.

“They make you farm more resilient, they take the stress away from your animals, they create shelter. You’re future proofing your farm by growing trees within your farming system,” Thomas said.

The organic farmer believes that “we need to redefine our perspective of what trees mean on the landscape”.

“It’s not a mono-culture of Sitka spruce and it doesn’t mean that they’re clear felled all the time, it’s a continuous improvement of the eco-system and the environment,” he said.

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Prices for timber have remained stable in the second quarter of the year, according to a forestry timber market survey by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).

The IFA Timber Price Survey shows no major changes in prices received across all timber products since the first quarter of the year.

The survey found that ‘roadside’ prices for Sitka spruce timber were as follows:

• Pulpwood prices ranged from €36-€40/t;
• Stalkwood prices ranged from €42-€52/t;
• Palletwood prices ranged from €48-€66/t, depending on the length produced;
• Sawlog prices ranged from €88-€100/t.

The prices quoted in the IFA Timber Price Survey were sourced from forest owners, forestry companies and sawmills.

Timber prices

Commenting on the survey, Jason Fleming, the chairperson of the IFA’s Farm Forestry Committee said: “Timber prices have been stable in the first half of 2024 with prices signaling a steady market demand.”

According to Fleming, the stability in the Irish timber market reflects the broader trends across the EU and global markets, which remained balanced without any major disruptions.

“There is some variation in prices around the country and it is important for farmers to look around to optimise their return,” Fleming said.

Small-scale forestry planting

In other forestry news, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has issued 244 approvals for small-scale planting of 266ha under the Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS) so far this year.

The small-scale planting scheme allows farmers to plant up to 1ha of native woodland without a licence, or up to 2ha if they have a suitable watercourse to plant along.

In addition to the approvals issued under the NTAS, the department approved the overall planting of 1,939ha of forestry up until the week ending last Friday (June 14).

This includes an area of 209ha which was approved for afforestation by the department over the past fortnight, according to the latest Forestry Licencing Dashboard.

An area of 613ha has been planted so far in 2024. The department said this only reflects afforestation that has been paid at first grant stage this year to date, including the NTAS.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued 244 approvals for small-scale planting of 266ha under the Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS) so far this year.

The small-scale planting scheme allows farmers to plant up to 1ha of native woodland without a licence, or up to 2ha if they have a suitable watercourse to plant along.

In addition to the approvals issued under the NTAS, the DAFM approved the planting of 1,939ha up until the week ending on Friday, June 14, this year.

This includes an area of 209ha which was approved for afforestation by the DAFM over the past fortnight, according to the latest Forestry Licensing Dashboard.

An area of 613ha has been planted so far in 2024. The DAFM notes that this only reflects afforestation that as been paid at first grant stage this year to date, including the NTAS.

Licences

Over the past week, the DAFM issued 15 afforestation licences, eight licences for forest roads, as well as 22 licences for private felling and 27 licences for felling by Coillte.

Commenting on the latest figures, the Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association (SEEFA) claims the “target pace” in afforestation, road, or felling licences “has still not been managed in a single week this year”.

The DAFM’s Forestry Licensing Plan 2024 sets a target of 4,200 forestry licences issued, including 1,000 afforestation licences, 650 road licences, 1,250 private felling and 1,300 Coillte felling licences.

“Even though last year provided such a low bar, so far this year, no single month has managed to surpass the felling licence numbers of 2023. This looks to continue in June as just 918ha of licences have been issued thus far,” SEEFA said.

Low felling licensing figures come with “several risks” to the industry, including reduced revenue for logging companies, potential job losses in traditional forestry roles, and increased wood product prices due to decreased supply, according to SEEFA.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is currently examining the option of providing support to forest owners with Japanese larch forests damaged by Phytophthora ramorum disease through a reconstitution scheme. 

Phytophthora ramorum is a harmful pathogen which is known to have a wide range of hosts, including many tree species. The disease was first detected in Ireland in 2002 on imported Rhododendron and Viburnum plants.

In 2010, the disease was found to be infecting trees in Ireland, in particular Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi), and has since been recognised as a “serious threat” as it can cause damage and death of Japanese larch, the DAFM said.

At the start of 2022, the disease had been confirmed present in Japanese larch at 56 forest locations, affecting approximately 337ha. However, it is recognised that a “much greater area” has been impacted, the DAFM said.

Japanese larch

Phytophthora ramorum disease was first noticed in the early 1990s in plant nurseries in Europe and in forests in California. After being detected in imports into Ireland in 2002, the disease was detected in the wild in 2003 on Rhododendron ponticum.

Larch species across Ireland cover approximately 24,000ha, mostly in mixture with Sitka spruce. This represents about 3.3% of the total forest area in the country, according to the 2022 National Forest Inventory.

Larch plantations are distributed throughout Ireland, with larger areas planted in Wicklow, Tipperary, and Cork. The species of larch planted are European larch, hybrid larch and Japanese larch, with the latter being the most common.

The majority of the larch in Ireland occurs in mixed species stands and a smaller amount, approximately 4,750ha, in pure larch stands, according to the DAFM.

Because of the level of damage to Japanese larch, the DAFM ceased grant aiding Japanese larch and Hybrid larch in November 2010, the DAFM said.

Identification of Phytophthora ramorum

Symptoms at a forest landscape level:

• Dead and dying partially flushed trees in groups or scattered throughout the stand;
• Canopy may be an abnormal grey/brown colour;
• Affected trees may show needle wilt, branch and shoot dieback, abnormal shoot growth.

Symptoms at stand level:

• Partial or whole crown discolouration, (reddish brown or grey brown depending on level and stage of infection);
• Crown partially flushed (in needle) or not at all;
• Crown dieback;
• Excessive external resin bleeding in upper crown areas.

Individual trees:

• Wilt and dieback of fresh needles with blackening of needles;
• Shoot dieback from tip back along shoot;
• Resin bleeding on branches and trunk;
• Excessive side shoot/epicormic growth and heavy cone production may be observed.

Since 2010, the Forestry Inspectorate has worked with Coillte, as the principal landowner affected, in undertaking sanitation felling of infected larch in an effort to limit the spread, according to the DAFM.

Reconstitution

A reconstitution scheme is outlined in the Forestry Programme 2023-2027, and provides for supporting the restoration of forest potential arising from damage by natural events.

Reconstitution will be aimed at forests where significant damage has occurred. This means death or irremediable damage of 20% or more of the trees in the relevant plantation covered by the one contract number or forest block.

It will also include the removal of host species for diseases such as Rhododendro in the spread of Phytophthora ramorum. Infected material or host species will be removed where required and replanted where appropriate, the programme states.

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Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) with responsibility for forestry, Pippa Hackett has said the “vast majority” of ash dieback owners is “very happy” with the reconstitution scheme in place.

Sinn Féin spokesperson for agriculture, Deputy Claire Kerrane raised the issue of ash dieback with Minister Hackett after hearing from the Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners Ltd. (LTWO) during an Oireachtas committee meeting.

LTWO chair Simon White told the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, of which Deputy Kerrane is a member, on Wednesday (June 12), that the “scheme was designed without discussion with stakeholders”.

In response to Deputy Kerrane, Minister Hackett said “engagement has been extensive, not just through the independent review group” which reviewed existing and previous supports for landowners affected by ash dieback.

“While I know there are several, I will call disgruntled people, the vast, vast majority of ash dieback owners are very happy with the [reconstitution of ash dieback] scheme.

“Some thought they’d never see any scheme that was going to support them at all. There is a widespread acceptance of the scheme and widespread engagement with it too,” Minister Hackett told the Dáil yesterday (Thursday, June 13).

Since the Forestry Programme commenced in September 2023, approvals for over 2,300ha have been issued under the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme, figures by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show.

Ash dieback

Deputy Kerrane said the forestry sector was “not engaged” in the “additional changes that have been made to the scheme”, including the Climate Action Performance Payment (CAPP), once the independent review of ash dieback was completed.

Under the announced €79.5 million support package, the CAPP worth €5,000/ha will be paid to ash forest owners who either have or will clear the affected ash and replant through one of the DAFM’s ash dieback reconstitution schemes.

The current Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme 2023-2027 was established last year and follows on from the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (RUS) (Ash Dieback) 2020, and the Interim Reconstitution Scheme for Ash Dieback 2023.

Ash planted as a component of additional broadleaved planting in conifer plots is not eligible for the €5,000/ha CAPP payment. The LTWO chair said this will exclude a “large percentage of people who have lost ash planted under state aid schemes”.

“Many people planted substantial blocks of ash as a component of a conifer plantation, set aside for biodiversity and they are now suddenly deemed ineligible to apply for this amended RUS scheme,” White told the committee.

Minister Hackett, however, said she “always encouraged” people to apply for the scheme to avail of the CAPP. “So there has [been] no change to the scheme of that, the addition was this significant, almost €80 million package for the CAPP”.

The issue of site clearance was addressed in the independent review, according to Minister Hackett who said that, having engaged with stakeholders and landowners, the group felt that the doubling of the clearance rate to €2,000/ha was a “fair price” to pay.

Despite accepting that there “will be examples where people have to pay more”, Minister Hackett told Deputy Kerrane that this is a grant to support the clearance and that in some instances the clearance “might not cost €2,000/ha”.

The clearance grant under the scheme “does not recognise that it can cost much more”, with the actual cost ranging from €2,000/ha for very young sites to €7,000/ha and more for older plantations that require specialist machinery, White said.

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Minister of State for land use and biodiversity, Pippa Hackett has today (Tuesday, June11) inaugurated the Shelton Abbey Pocket Forests Native Tree Nursery at Shelton Abbey open prison in Arklow, Co. Wicklow.

Over 2,000 trees will be cared for by prisoners, guided by senior prison officer Declan Jordan, before being planted in urban areas by communities working with Pocket Forests.

The saplings, planted in March 2024, will remain in the nursery until next winter when they will be relocated to community-created Pocket Forests to address urban nature deprivation.

The project, which supports climate and biodiversity action, grows nine different indigenous tree species from Irish seed, provided by Coillte.

Minister Hackett said she is enthusiastic about the initiative and its potential benefits as well as commending the prisoners’ dedication and the guidance of officer Jordan.

“It’s a real privilege to be opening the Pocket Forests native tree nursery in Shelton Abbey,” she said.

“The benefits of urban greening are multiple, be it better air quality, much needed shading and cooling on hot summer days, or improved flood resilience.

“The care that the prisoners have put into establishing the nursery,” she said.

Shelton Abbey participation

Governor of Shelton Abbey open centre, Joseph Donoghue, expressed pride in the collaboration.

“This initiative not only benefits our community by bringing nature to urban areas and combating biodiversity loss, but also provides a positive role for our prisoners in climate and biodiversity action,” he said.

Director of Coillte Nature, Ciaran Fallon added: “We are delighted to support this Pocket Forest initiative by providing the native Irish tree saplings.

“It’s great to be able to play a small role in this inspirational project,” he said.

Shelton Abbey, a low-security prison with a history linked to forestry, emphasises rehabilitation through educational and vocational activities.

Pocket forests, an award winning social enterprise founded in 2020, has planted over 100 pocket forests across Ireland, promoting urban greening and biodiversity, according to the enterprise.

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The Coillte-backed Irish Strategic Forestry Fund (ISFF) has, to date acquired more than 5,000ha of forestry, according to latest figures.

An additional 750ha across 30 properties is also “sale agreed”.

It is understood that there were more than 4,500ha “under management” by the end of last year which puts the ISFF ‘ahead’ of its current targets.

Semi-state company, Coillte, attracted a significant amount of criticism last year when it confirmed it had partnered with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and UK-listed asset management company, Gresham House to establish the ISFF.

According to Gresham House the aim of ISFF was to “provide up to €200 million capital” needed to create new forests in Ireland.

The total area of new forest planted through the fund was set at around 3,500ha which was expected to take five years.

Gresham House had also detailed that the fund would acquire existing forest assets and “when fully deployed, will represent a portfolio of approximately 12,000ha of new and existing forests”.

Last year Coillte provided an undertaking that it will “not sell any existing, publicly-owned forest to the fund, nor will it seek to purchase any other public land on behalf of the fund”.

Gresham House also outlined that it will act as the fund manager and is not an investor and will “not own the land”.

Coillte

In its 2023 annual report Coillte detailed that ISFF is “actively sourcing land for afforestation”.

It also highlighted that the fund will play a key role in supporting the national target of creating “100,000ha of new forests”.

“This is a long-term target to 2050 and it will require many different initiatives to deliver on it.

“We continue to focus on three key initiatives in this regard which include the use of public lands through our collaboration with Bord na Móna, the use of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investment by the Nature Trust to plant new native woodlands, and the creation of mixed woodlands through the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund,” Coillte stated in its latest annual report.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has received a total of 345 valid applications for planting licences so far this year.

The number of planting licences issued, however, stands at 218 in the year-to-date up until Friday, June 7, the DAFM’s latest Forestry Licensing Dashboard shows.

The licences issued by the DAFM so far this year allow for the planting of 1,817ha. This includes 11 licences issued last week which approve the planting of 87ha.

In total, 565ha have been planted so far in 2024, including 35ha in the first week of June. However, this only reflects the afforestation which has been paid at first grant stage.

This total also includes the Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS) under which farmers can plant up to 1ha of native woodland without a licence, or up to 2ha along a watercourse.

The DAFM has issued 223 approvals under the NTAS so far this year, which allows for small-scale planting across a total area of 242ha, according to the latest dashboard.

An area of 1,445ha has been approved under the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme in the year-to-date, while 339ha have been approved under the Woodland Improvement Scheme.

DAFM forestry licences

In addition to the planting licences, the DAFM issued 13 licences for the construction of forestry roads, 18 licences for private felling, and 21 licences for felling by Coillte.

In total, 27km of forest roads have been constructed up until June 7 this year, of which 1km was constructed last week. The DAFM has issued a total of 427 road licences for the year-to-date.

The felling licences issued last week, across both private felling and Coillte felling, allow for the clear felling of 203ha and the thinning of 309ha, according to the dashboard.

Meanwhile, the Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association (SEEFA) said that “barriers to afforestation need to be assessed now, before it is too late.” Commenting on the 565ha planted year-to-date, SEEFA said:

“This shockingly low figure comes as [the] planting season comes to an end, giving little indication that anywhere near the 8,000ha annual target will be achieved.

“With this year’s target now seemingly impossible, and next year looking increasingly like it may be more of the same, will we actually ever see this forestry programme’s target achieved?”

The post DAFM: 345 applications received for planting licences appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Between 2002 and 2015, Ireland’s semi-state forestry company, Coillte has restored and rewetted 3,195ha of “ecologically valuable” blanket bog and raised bog habitats on its lands.

Blanket bog habitat spanning 1,988ha across twenty different locations, largely along the Western seaboard counties of Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, and Offaly was restored.

In addition, two separate raised bog restoration projects saw 1,207ha of raised bog habitat of “high conservation value” restored in Laois, Meath, Westmeath, Cavan, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon, Galway, and Tipperary.

These projects were completed in partnership with the European Commission’s LIFE Nature Unit. The Life Programme provides funding to support environment, nature conservation, and climate action projects across the EU.

Peatland restoration

Trees are “no longer” planted on deep peat soils in Ireland because there is now a “better understanding” of the carbon emission risk of planting these soils, according to Coillte.

The semi-state forestry company identified approximately 30,000ha of forests across its 440,000ha estate that are located on deep peat soils, which present a carbon emission risk and should be redesigned.

Coillte’s latest attempt to restore its peatland forests, known as the Wild Western Peatlands Project, including a pilot site at its Derryclare forest in Co. Galway, was recently refused planning permission by Galway County Council.

A 10-year planning permission was sought to restore and rehabilitate 281ha of Atlantic blanket bog and heathland which is currently planted with lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce, and to convert 62ha of forestry to native woodland.

Coillte

Despite the recent refusal of planning permission for the project, Coillte said it remains “fully committed” to its ambition to redesign 30,000ha of peatland forests by 2050 for “climate and ecological benefits”.

The semi-state forestry company said it will continue to engage with its key stakeholders, including Galway County Council, to work through “potential options” for delivering on its ambition going forward.

Coillte’s forestry estate consists of a variety of different soil types and habitats, of which 20% is currently managed primarily for nature. The ambition is to increase this to 30% by the end of 2025.

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The Western Forestry Co-op has announced the appointment of Noreen Barrett as new CEO who will take office from July 1, 2024.

Barrett will take over from the current CEO Marina Conway who will step down on June 28, 2024. In April, Conway announced her resignation after 11 years as CEO.

Since February 2016, Barrett has been the finance manager of the Western Forestry Co-op. She is a charted certified accountant and a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Western Forestry Co-op

Commenting on the board’s decision to appoint Barrett as new CEO, Western Forestry Co-op chair Robert Hosey said:

“I am delighted to officially announce Noreen as new CEO. Her wealth of experience and commitment has been pivotal in the success of [the] Western Forestry Co-op.”

“Noreen has worked diligently as part of the senior management team in safeguarding the long-term economic and social strength of the co-op during what has been a turbulent time in Irish forestry.

“She knows the business of farm forestry well and understands the important role of [the] Western Forestry Co-op as a leader in farm forestry. I wish her every success in her new role,” outgoing CEO, Marina Conway said.

The co-op was set up to provide a support structure to encourage farmers to afforest the marginal areas of their farms rather than selling the land to private investors.

The post Western Forestry Co-op appoints new CEO appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Afforestation licences for 526ac were issued during the month of May which marks a 20-month record, according to the Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association (SEEFA).

The latest forestry dashboard published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) shows that afforestation licences for 1,731ha were issued in the first five months of 2024.

The department has issued 207 afforestation licences year-to-date, while it has received 331 valid applications.

Afforestation

SEEFA said it welcomed the “vast improvement” in May and acknowledged the efforts of the department.

However, it noted that the afforestation figure of 526ha is “almost 22% short of the monthly target pace, and came from relatively few licences, resulting in little impact on the backlog”.

The group said that road and felling licences are “still struggling to match what is needed to get the industry back on track”.

During May, the department issued licences for 33km of forestry roads, which was the same as the previous month, but up significantly on the 4km issued in May 2023.

Over the first five months of the year, licences have been granted for 151km of roads, compared to 19km in the same period in 2023.

414 roads licences were issued by the department to the end of May, while 339 applications were lodged.

Felling licences issued by the department during May related to 1,695ha, bringing the total this year to 9,095ha. This is down from over 16,000ha of felling licences granted in the same period in 2023.

The department has issued 478 licences to private forestry owners and 262 to Coillte for felling.

“For the first time since 2022, there is some cause for optimism.

“We encourage the department to continue to improve in afforestation licensing, and to address issues in felling, roads, and planting as soon as possible,” SEEFA said.

26 afforestation appeals have been made to the department, along with 10 felling and three roads appeals.

Forestry

Up to May 31, 531ha of forestry was planted, however, the department noted the figures for trees planted reflect afforestation that had been paid at first grant stage this year to date only.

To date this year, 76 afforestation licences covering 570ha that were previously granted, are now approved under the new forestry scheme.

The data also shows that 400 applications have been granted under the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme covering 1,436ha so far this year.

140 applications have been approved for the Deer Tree Shelter Scheme (DTS), along with 70 applications for the Woodland Improvement Scheme (WIS).

223 licences have been issued under the Native Area Tree Scheme (NTAS) relating to 242ha.

The post ‘Some cause for optimism’ with afforestation licensing – SEEFA appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for Agriculture, Claire Kerrane, has called on the government to engage with the country’s forestry sector on the Ash Dieback Scheme, which she described as “shambolic”.

Kerrane’s comments come after a group of protesters affected by the disease held a protest outside the Dáil last week.

This was in response to cabinet approval for the ‘Ash Dieback Action Plan’ (Tuesday, April 30) which outlined increased grant rates for clearing and replanting on affected ash plantations.

Under the plan a €5,000/ha Climate Action Performance Payment (CAPP) will be provided to affected forest owners, separate from the clearing and replanting grants.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) also confirmed that there will be an increase in the site clearance grant rate, from €1,000 to €2,000, under the Forestry Programme.

Ash Dieback

But according to the Sinn Féin TD for Roscommon and Galway, the protest last week highlighted what is at the heart of the issue in relation to the latest Ash dieback scheme.

“The current scheme, even with slight tweaks made to it in recent weeks, is not workable, it is incapable of dealing with the issue of ash dieback and changes to it are needed urgently,” Kerrane stated.

“Once again, the government have failed to listen to the experts and those affected on what they actually need to deal with this disaster once and for all. And while this is allowed to rumble on, confidence in the forestry sector remains on the floor.

“The clearance grant cannot be one size fits all, depending on the age of the trees, the clearance costs can vary and this needs to be acknowledged in the scheme.

“If it isn’t, trees are going to be left rotting and lives are going to put at risk. This is just one issue with the current scheme,” she added.

Kerrane has called on Minister Pippa Hackett to work with representatives from the Limerick & Tipperary Woodland Owners and the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) to make the Ash Dieback Scheme “fit for purpose”.

“If the forestry sector in Ireland is to have any hope at all, ash dieback needs to be dealt with once and for all.

“All affected trees must be carefully and properly removed as quickly as possible and those who are not interested in re-planting should be allowed to restore their land, as they so wish,” she said.

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Irish forest owners are hosting free events this month and will be sharing their own personal stories of forestry to farmers who may be considering entering the sector.

The events are being hosted by Irish Forest Owners (IFO), an umbrella organisation of forest owner producer groups that supports and represents private forest owners across Ireland.

The events, titled ‘Realising the Potential of Family-owned Forestry’ are supported by funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) will consist of free walks and talks that are open to the public.

Chair of the IFO, Derek McCabe said at these events, “farmers, those considering entering the forestry sector and the wider public will hear directly from private forest owners about why they planted, the benefits and pitfalls, what they’ve learned and how they are realising the economic potential of their forest”.

“Our events are targeted at farmers and landowners considering planting; those who will inherit a forest, ie second generation forest owners who want to know more.

“We’re also hoping to attract those who have forestry and who want to learn more and meet other forest owners. There’s also a cohort out there who might be interested in knowing more about forestry in Ireland. They’re all welcome,” McCabe added.

Details on the four June open events are featured below:

The in-forest walk and information events will also cover:

• The economics of softwoods (conifers) and hardwoods (broadleaves);
• The benefits of farm forestry;
• Forest management options.

Information will also be shared on forestry and taxation, forest management certification and the benefits of producer groups.

McCabe said: “Planting a tree is the simplest way for every one of us to leave something for the next generation, something that will live on after us and something that will provide for those who come after us.

“Family-owned forestry is not just planting trees; it’s about creating a sustainable and beneficial relationship between the land, the community and the environment.

“The essence of family-owned forestry is about fostering a harmonious balance where ecological stewardship and community development go hand in hand.

“By integrating forestry into agricultural practices, communities can reap the benefits of a healthier environment, enhanced biodiversity, and economic opportunities, all while contributing to the global effort against climate change,” McCabe added.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity in DAFM, Pippa Hackett, did not attend the first meeting of the ash dieback taskforce earlier this week.

The taskforce met on Tuesday, May 28, and Minister Hackett said in a statement that there was “constructive engagement of all concerned” at the first meeting.

DAFM confirmed to Agriland that “Minister Hackett did not attend” the first meeting of the taskforce.

The taskforce meeting was chaired by assistant secretary general Paul Savage.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Minister Hackett said: “When bringing the ash dieback action plan to cabinet last month, together with an additional €79.5 million in funding for ash plantation owners, I stated my strong commitment to ensuring that my department acts swiftly to implement all of the recommendations of the independent review that I commissioned into previous handling of the outbreak of ash dieback.

“Stakeholder participation and representation of ash plantation owners will be central to my department’s implementation of the action plan, and today’s first meeting of the ash dieback taskforce is a key step along this road.

“The taskforce will be the forum through which my department will engage in an open and detailed manner with representatives of landowners and of the wider forestry sector as we move forward to implement the action plan,” Minister Hackett concluded in her statement.

Criticism of ash dieback taskforce

Simon White, chair of the Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners (LTWO) said efforts to portray the first meeting of the taskforce as a “successful collaboration is totally misleading”.

White said: “It was patently clear to everyone at that meeting that the taskforce faces an impossible task“.

White stated that there is a “lack of sufficient funding within the scheme allocated to each step in a complicated process”.

Derek McCabe, chair of the Irish Forestry Owners (IFO) and member of the ash dieback taskforce who attended the meeting wishes “to refute” Minister Hacketts statement of “constructive engagement”.

McCabe said the taskforce met for the first time this week, “six months after the recommendation in the ash dieback report that such a task force should be set up as a matter of urgency”.

The terms and conditions of the taskforce were issued to both White and McCabe the night before the meeting, they each explained.

“When asked to agree the terms and conditions of the task force…the majority of stakeholders said they could only do so with expressed reservations and under duress,” White explained.

“Bearing in mind that most of these depend on the departmental forestry schemes for a major proportion of their business income it is clear they were in an invidious position if they opposed the terms of reference,” the LTWO chair added.

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The outcome of the first ash dieback taskforce meeting has been met with strong criticism from some of its members.

The first ash dieback taskforce meeting took place this week where Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Pippa Hackett said there was “constructive engagement”.

However, Simon White, chair of the Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners (LTWO) said efforts to portray the first meeting of the taskforce as a “successful collaboration is totally misleading”.

White said: “It was patently clear to everyone at that meeting that the task force faces an impossible task“.

White stated that there is a “lack of sufficient funding within the scheme allocated to each step in a complicated process”.

As a result, White said “the stakeholders who will be tasked with carrying out the work made it clear that they will not clear and plant the majority of these affected sites because they would lose money if they attempted to do so”.

The LTWO chair said: “The plan as announced is unworkable without radical change and more funding if it is to achieve what is it supposed to accomplish clearing and replanting these dead sites.

“The lack of urgency attached to the work of this group was demonstrated by the setting of the next meeting being in September.”

The ash dieback taskforce will meet four times a year, for a period of up to three years.

IFO

Derek McCabe, chair of the Irish Forestry Owners (IFO) and member of the ash dieback taskforce who attended the meeting wishes “to refute” Minister Hacketts statement of “constructive engagement”.

McCabe said the taskforce met for the first time this week, “six months after the recommendation in the ash dieback report that such a task force should be set up as a matter of urgency”.

The IFO chair stated that the ash dieback action plan and funding package was “cobbled together…without recourse or consultation with the taskforce”.

McCabe said: “The ash dieback compensation package is fundamentally flawed, inequitable and falls well short of what should reasonably expected. 

“Unfortunately, Minister Hackett has missed a golden opportunity to reignite the forestry sector,” the IFO chair added.

The terms and conditions of the taskforce were issued to both White and McCabe the night before the meeting, they each explained.

“When asked to agree the terms and conditions of the task force…the majority of stakeholders said they could only do so with expressed reservations and under duress,” White explained.

“Bearing in mind that most of these depend on the departmental forestry schemes for a major proportion of their business income it is clear they were in an invidious position if they opposed the terms of reference,” the LTWO chair added.

The post LTWO: Ash dieback taskforce ‘faces an impossible task’ appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Forest owners led by the Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners Ltd. (LTWO) gathered outside Leinster House today (Wednesday, May 29), to demand action from government on ash dieback.

Chair of the LTWO, Simon White said affected forest owners are “fed up” and that the recently announced €79.5 million package for farmers and landowners impacted by the disease is “not acceptable”.

Minister for Agriculture, Food the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have “continuously” treated forest owners affected by ash dieback with “complete disrespect”, White said.

“Confidence in forestry and private landowners is gone because it has been mismanaged by the department. Every issues has been dealt with unfairly, inadequately, and what we are asking for is people to be dealt with fairly,” he said.

Ash dieback protest

Speaking to Agriland, the LTWO chair addressed the potential of trees when it comes to climate change. “We need to get young people into planting trees, because nothing can do the job better than trees,” he said.

White believes a “small investment” by the government to tackle ash dieback will “pay back hugely” because Ireland is going to face “enormous fines” for missing its planting targets “every year for the last ten years”.

“We are the people who want to plant, we have a load of people who would plant, but under the terms and conditions that are being forced upon us, nobody is interested. They are walking away.

“Why would you plant, replace these trees with conifers when you know there is a bark beetle around the corner that they are not going to do anything about and if it comes in, it will wipe out your new plantation,” he said.

The Great Spruce Bark beetle, which is the primary bark beetle of concern to Ireland, has not been found here and biosecurity measures are in place for the importation of plants and plant products, Minister McConalogue recently said.

Forestry

Under the Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme 2023-2027, owners of ash forest will receive €2,000/ha for site clearance and between €3,858/ha and €8,555/ha for replanting, depending on the chosen forest type.

A Climate Action Performance Payment (CAPP) of €5,000/ha will be paid to grant-aided ash forest owners who either have or will clear the ash and replant through one of the DAFM’s ash dieback reconstitution schemes.

Announcing the CAPP payment, Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity, Pippa Hackett said she was “determined” to bring forward an action plan that address the concerns of farmers and landowners affected by the disease.

The action plan also addresses the recommendations of the independent review on ash dieback commissioned last year, and states that the DAFM “recognises” that ash dieback “requires urgent action”.

“There is currently a strong forestry contractor base that is organised, equipped, trained,
and experienced to tackle the work of dealing with ash dieback,” the DAFM said. The CAPP brings the total ash dieback financial package to €237 million.

New plantings of 457ha have been approved so far in May 2024. In order to achieve the government’s annual planting target of 8,000ha set under the Climate Action Plan, the DAFM would need to issues licences for 667ha per month.

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An event highlighting sustainability measures implemented at Moorepark, Co. Cork, with a focus on planting trees took place today (Wednesday, May 29).

A three hectare area of new native woodland and undisturbed water setbacks was established alongside the Funshion river, which flows by Teagasc Moorepark Research farm.

The established woodland was created through a co-operative approach by Teagasc’s Cork East advisory region in 2023.

It was the focal point for the ‘Woodland for Water’ event held today, organised by the Teagasc forestry development department, and the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP).

Attendees were welcomed to this event by Minister of State Pippa Hackett and director of Teagasc, Professor Frank O’Mara.

The attendees how this woodland measure is working with other on-farm initiatives to greatly enhance Moorepark’s sustainability credentials.

Such initiatives include the use of grass/clover swards, achieving optimum pH, fertiliser formulation, low emission slurry spreading, extended grazing, effective manure management and an extensive 8km of new hedgerow established.

Minister of State Pippa Hackett said: “The tree planting measures in Teagasc Moorepark farm reflect the exciting options available under the new Forestry Programme 2023- 2027 to protect and enhance water quality in a way that is synergistic for agriculture and other land uses.

“I would strongly encourage farmers to look both at the financial incentives and the environmental benefits of establishing riparian woodlands.

Minister Hackett also encouraged farmers to speak to their local Teagasc forestry adviser about planting native woodlands for water under the Native Tree Area Scheme, or at a larger scale through the ‘Forests for Water’ option under the Forestry Programme.

Professor Frank O’Mara said the event showcased the “multi-faceted approach” in Teagasc to “whole farm planning,” and demonstrated “the important role of trees in contributing to farm sustainability and maintaining and enhancing water quality.

“This complements the range of on farm measures highlighted in the Teagasc Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.

Outdoor presentations at the event showed a wide range of significant water-related ecosystem services and whole farm planning potential provided by new native woodland and undisturbed water setbacks along the riverbank.

Farm benefits from this woodland development include:

• The reduction in sediment mobilisation and runoff into the adjacent river;
• The interception of nutrient runoff into the watercourse;
• Riverbank stabilisation and restoration,

There were also increases in native woodland biodiversity, carbon sequestration and habitat linkage within the wider Moorepark landscape from the development.

Tom Houlihan, of the Teagasc forestry department said: Many farms have areas that would be suitable for planting trees, particularly if it can be incorporated with a phosphate flow pathway to help break the pathway of overland flow”.

“The tree planting measures showcased today can be a highly effective measure in breaking the pathway between the source of nutrients and the receiving waterbody,” he added.

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Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity in the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM), said there was “constructive engagement” at the first meeting of the ash dieback taskforce. 

The taskforce is a DAFM-chaired group, comprised of the relevant stakeholders including representatives of ash plantation owners, whose purpose is to facilitate a co-ordinated response and a swift implementation of the ash dieback action plan. 

The ash dieback taskforce will meet four times a year, for a period of up to three years.

The taskforce met yesterday (Tuesday, May 28), and Minister Hackett said there was “constructive engagement of all concerned” at the first meeting.

The following organisations attended yesterday’s meeting of the Forest Strategy Consultative Committee (FSCC) ash dieback taskforce:

Minister Hackett said: “When bringing the ash dieback action plan to cabinet last month, together with an additional €79.5 million in funding for ash plantation owners, I stated my strong commitment to ensuring that my department acts swiftly to implement all of the recommendations of the independent review that I commissioned into previous handling of the outbreak of ash dieback.

“Stakeholder participation and representation of ash plantation owners will be central to my department’s implementation of the action plan, and today’s first meeting of the ash dieback taskforce is a key step along this road.

“The taskforce will be the forum through which my department will engage in an open and detailed manner with representatives of landowners and of the wider forestry sector as we move forward to implement the action plan,” Minister Hackett concluded.

The overall support for ash plantation owners amounts to potentially €237 million, including the new €79.5 million Climate Action Performance Payment, which will be paid at a rate of €5,000/ha.

This new payment is available to all ash forest owners who, under a departmental ash dieback reconstitution scheme, clear their sites and carry out replanting. 

The post ‘Constructive engagement’ at first ash dieback taskforce meeting appeared first on Agriland.ie.

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.

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The Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage is currently inviting tenders for a study on mass engineered timber (MET).

MET is a term used to describe engineered wood products of large section size which offer the construction industry a viable alternative to steel and concrete.

The name is generally applied to thick panel products, but can also include large section glued-or block-laminated linear elements.

The department said that there has been “a significant level of interest” in these products and building systems due to their technical capabilities, cost-competitiveness and environmental properties.

Against the backdrop of “challenging national carbon emissions reduction targets”, it said that MET is “considered a means of contributing to the decarbonisation of construction”.

Timber

The Timber in Construction Steering Group was formed by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Pippa Hackett in September 2023.

It is tasked with increasing the use of timber in construction, whilst ensuring the highest degree of building safety and property protection.

The group must also examine regulatory and standards challenges and maximise the use of home-grown timber in construction.

As part of the work on compliance with standards, tenders are being invited for a 9-month study to identify, examine and report any specific regulatory and market challenges to MET in an Irish context.

The study, which has a maximum budget of €160,000, excluding VAT, will review standards, research and codes developed in Ireland and abroad in relation to the design and use of MET.

It will focus on low to medium rise new-build residential and non-residential buildings, where MET is all, or a substantial part, of the primary structure.

The outcomes of the study will support the development of recommendations for a national technical specification for the use of MET.

The recommendations will cover a range of new low to medium rise apartments, along with office buildings, student accommodation, hotels and nursing homes.

Those undertaking the study must be mindful of “priority topics”, such as fire safety; structural design; moisture management; durability; energy and acoustic performance and quality control.

The department said that the closing date for the submission of tenders is June 28, 2024.

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Two major forestry portfolios, totaling nearly 700ha, are currently for sale across the country starting in Donegal and continuing right down to Cork.

One of the portfolios that is being sold comprises 267ha mature forests across six counties and is being sold as a single lot, which according to commercial property advisors TWM, is “rare”.

The price tag for this portfolio is in “excess €7 million” and includes a mix of species with a high proportion of commercial Sitka Spruce with “ongoing harvesting and replanting”.

According to TWM investors are likely to be attracted by the “high yield class of the Sitka which averages at 26” and supports strong future income streams.

Michele Jackson, director in TWM, said it is expecting good interest from a range of buyers looking for sustainable investment opportunities.

Dublin headquartered TWM believes that there is currently a focus by both investors and corporations on sustainability and the environment and that that this is likely to increase with a focus on “climate and biodiversity-positive investment”.

“In our experience Investors are looking for diversity and resilient opportunities and forestry offers sustainable long term growth,” Jackson added.

She said one of the key attributes of the 267ha portfolio is that the forests are certified and managed in accordance with both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

The largest forest in the portfolio is in 77ha in Co. Dublin and it also includes 38ha in Wicklow and 46ha in Offaly with the remainder located in Cavan, Cork, and Kilkenny.  

Forestry

Meanwhile another 429ha forestry portfolio for sale includes 11 different forest plantations which are on the market as one or individual lots, with a total value of €7.5 million.

According to Lisney the portfolio includes three plots in Wicklow, two in Kildare and one in Louth, Westmeath, Donegal, Galway, Cork and Waterford.

The portfolio has also beeen managed in accordance with both FSC and PEFC forest certification standards.

There are 18 different species of trees from Sitka Spruce to Douglas Fir, Norway Spruce, mixed broadleaves and others – all at various stages of maturity in the portfolio.

Lisney has said that forestry has emerged “as an alternative but compelling investment class in Ireland”

“Forestry land offers long-term, stable returns compared to traditional asset classes,” it stated.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued a total of 586 approvals under the current Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme since it opened in July 2023 as part of the new Forestry Programme.

The latest Forestry Licensing Dashboard published by the DAFM shows that of these approvals, 381 were issued this year up until the week ending on Friday, May 17, comprising a total area of 1,375ha of ash forest.

Under the Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme 2023-2027, owners of ash forest will receive €2,000/ha for site clearance and between €3,858/ha and €8,555/ha for replanting, depending on the chosen forest type.

A total of 479ha of new afforestation has been planted so far this year, according to dashboard figures. However, the total only reflects afforestation which has been paid at first grant stage this year to date, the DAFM said.

Forestry licences

So far this year the DAFM received a total of 1,729 valid applications for forestry licences, compared to 1,261 licences issued. Of these, 276 were afforestation licence applications, of which 190 were approved allowing for 1,513ha of plantings.

Planting of 308ha has been approved so far in May. In order to achieve the government’s annual planting target of 8,000ha set under the Climate Action Plan, the DAFM would need to issues licences for 667ha per month.

Under the Native Area Tree Scheme, 211 approvals have been issued year-to-date which allows for 226ha of new plantings. The scheme allows farmers to plant up to 1ha of native woodland without a licence, or up to 2ha along a watercourse.

Last week the DAFM issued nine planting licences, 30 forest road licences, 25 private felling licences and five Coillte felling licences. Five felling licences were approved for thinning of 152ha, while 25 licences allowed for clear felling of 253ha.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has provided some clarity to landowners looking to apply for the recently announced €5,000/ha payment for forests affected by ash dieback.

There are 6,500 individual owners of ash plantations established under state-funded schemes between 1990 and 2013, according to the DAFM’s action plan on ash dieback.

A total of 6,386.97ha are still in premium for varying periods of 1-9 years, with an outstanding premium liability of €29.6 million, according to figures by the DAFM.

A total of €10 million has been expended to date on schemes to deal with ash dieback, with interventions made on 1,700ha, the DAFM’s recently published action plan states.

€5,000/ha payment

A Climate Action Performance Payment (CAPP) of €5,000/ha will be paid to grant-aided ash forest owners who either have or will clear the ash and replant through one of the DAFM’s ash dieback reconstitution schemes.

This payment, which is in addition to the grants paid for clearance and replanting, will be made in three installments:

• €2,500 can be applied for after 1st grant on ash reconstitution scheme which is paid once the forest has been successfully replanted;
• €1,250 can be applied for after 2nd grant on ash reconstitution scheme if
  the forest owner is out of premiums or at the end of their premiums if they are still in receipt;
• €1,250 can be applied for the following year.

Landowners who previously joined one of the following DAFM schemes are eligible for the CAPP, provided they have replanted:

• Reconstitution Scheme Ash Dieback 2013;
• Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (Ash Dieback) 2020;
• Interim Reconstitution Scheme for Ash Dieback 2023;
• Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme 2023-2027.

Forest owners must enter an ash dieback reconstitution scheme before the end of 2027 in order to be considered for this payment. Ash planted as a component of additional broadleaved planting in conifer plots is not eligible.

Ash forest owners can apply for the payment once first grant has been paid on a reconstitution scheme. An online facility for applications is currently being developed by the DAFM. This application can only be made directly by the forest owner.

The DAFM will commence the €5,000/ha payments before the end of the year to landowners who have cleared and replanted sites. The payment will be exempted from income tax, according to the DAFM.

Landowners who have not applied for any reconstitution scheme for ash dieback should contact a registered forester and ask them to make an application on their behalf under the Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme 2023-2027.

The DAFM noted that all CAPP payments will be paid in line with de minimis rules and forest owners applying to this scheme will need to make a de minimis declaration. De minimis are payments which are exempt from EU state aid control.

Applicants must include details of any de minimis payments received during the previous rolling three-year period. The cumulative amount of all de minimis payments during this period must not exceed €300,000, according to the DAFM.

The following forestry schemes have de minimis payment elements:

• Afforestation Scheme 2007-2013 – Non-farmer premium amount exceeding €150/ha for years 1-15 and 100% of farmer premium payments for years 16-20;
• Reconstitution of Woodland (Windblow) Scheme 2016;
• Reconstitution of Woodland (Drought) Scheme 2019;
• Afforestation Scheme 2014-2020, premiums 13-15;
• Afforestation Scheme 2014-2020 – Forestry for Fibre GPC 12 (premiums only);
• Reconstitution of Woodland Scheme (Frost) 2022;
• Interim Afforestation Scheme (via general de minimis) 2023;
• Interim Forest Road Scheme (via general de minimis) 2023;
• Interim Reconstitution Scheme for Ash Dieback (via general de minimis)
  2023.

The CAPP brings the total ash dieback financial package – comprised of existing and new elements – to €237 million, as summarised below:

In the context of this CAPP payment, the DAFM said it is not possible to provide an annual payment for re-establishment, according to its action plan on ash dieback.

Ash dieback reconstitution scheme

Under the new Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme 2023-2027, affected forest owners can avail of a €2,000 site clearance grant and replanting grant rates in accordance with the chosen forest type.

The following re-planting options and grant rates apply:

• Native forests €6,744/ha;
• Broadleaf, mainly oak/beech €6,744/ha;
• Diverse broadleaves €4,314/ha;
• Agroforestry €8,555/ha;
• Continuous cover forestry €5,421/ha;
• Mixed high forests: Diverse conifer, minimum 20% broadleaves €4,452/ha;
• Mixed high forests with mainly sitka spruce, minimum 20% broadleaves €3,858/ha.

In order to avail of the reconstitution scheme, forest owners are required to make contact with a registered forester. The registered forester and forest owner will make the relevant application for scheme support. A felling licence is not required.

The reconstitution will be paid in three installments:

• Application for the site clearance grant;
• Application for the 1st instalment grant and top-up premium payment may be made following the reconstitution of the treated area (75%);
• Application for the 2nd instalment grant may be made four years after the site is successfully reconstituted (25%).

Those applicants whose ash dieback affected sites are still in premium will continue to receive the premium due for the remaining years, according to the DAFM.

For those in receipt of the farmer-rate premium, a top-up premium equal to the difference between the equivalent forestry type and the existing premium will be paid in a single sum. Non-farmers will be paid a €300/ha top up.

DAFM

“There is currently a strong forestry contractor base that is organised, equipped, trained,
and experienced to tackle the work of dealing with ash dieback,” according to the DAFM.

The DAFM previously removed the planning permission requirement for sites of less than 10a that are screened-in for appropriate assessment under the reconstitution scheme. This will cover approximately 92% of ash forests.

A more rapid approval process is also being facilitated were good-quality harvesting and reforestation plans are submitted. The requirement for a damage assessment and the previous age restriction on planting eligibility have also been removed.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has told Agriland that the “development” of an IT system to pay ash forest owners compensation under the new €79.5 million support package “is under way”.

Last month the government confirmed that as part of the support package a climate performance action payment of €5,000/ha will be available to ash plantation owners who have or will replant under a departmental reconstitution scheme.

However no details had previously been released on when this payment would be made.

DAFM has now confirmed that “payments will commence” when the IT system is in place.

But it has not provided a timeline of when these payments will start to landowners who have been impacted by ash dieback.

DAFM told Agriland: “The development of the relevant IT functionality for the climate action performance payment is under way, and payments will commence when this is completed”.

Forests

It is estimated that there were 15,897ha of grant-aided ash planted between 1990 and 2013 – more than three quarters of those ash forests are less than 5ha in size.

However around 6,000 ash forest owners have not yet submitted an application to join DAFM’s reconstitution scheme.

Meanwhile the department has confirmed that it is now “progressing the arrangements to implement the actions” set out in the latest ash dieback support package.

This includes the establishment of task force to implement an action plan which been set up as a subcommittee of the new forest strategy consultative committee.

It is expected that the first meeting of this taskforce will take place in the coming weeks.

Ash dieback

Separately the Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Claire Kerrane, has queried how the climate performance action payment of €5,000/ha will be paid out to impacted ash plantation owners.

Deputy Kerrane said the government did not initially specify that the payment will “in fact be paid in three instalments with the final two paid four to five years after the initial one”.

She believes that this may be “misleading” for landowners who may have expected a payment of €5,000 “in one go”.

Deputy Kerrane said the the climate performance action payment of €5,000/ha will take the form of “an initial payment of €2,500 once a site is cleared and re-planted, and at the end of the premium, four years later, a payment of €1,250 and a further payment of €1,250 a year later”.

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Illaun Farm-Forest Alliance received a prestigious award in the sustainable forest management category at the EIP-AGRI Innovation Awards in Estoril, Portugal, on May 7.

The Co. Clare-based project was one of three Irish nominees for this year’s awards, which were organised by the EU CAP Network.

Ray Ó Foghiú, project lead for the Illaun Farm-Forest Alliance, spoke about his hope for the future of the forestry sector in Ireland.

“Getting acknowledgment here in Portugal is amazing. It’s also humbling, given the quality of other entrants. I just hope the state can take what we learned and what many foresters know, and resource the point of contact with farmers,” the project lead said.

He acknowledged the various challenges the forestry sector faces, but said “for the most part, they are not financial”.

He continued: “They are cultural challenges, information challenges, and reputation challenges. These are the areas we sought to innovate in.

“The fact that all farmers who participated engaged with licensed woodland creation shows that with the right support, we can move through the current impasse.”

EIP-AGRI Innovation Awards

Illaun Farm-Forest Alliance stands out for its pioneering efforts in transforming farm forestry practices in Ireland.

Its innovative approach prioritises habitat restoration, biodiversity enhancement, and community engagement, while advocating for sustainable forestry management.

Through collaborative partnerships with farmers, the alliance has implemented a range of measures including fencing, strategic planting, and understory enhancement.

These efforts have yielded significant results, including the securing of afforestation licenses, the planting of thousands of trees, and the successful navigation of initial scepticism from landowners.

CAP Network Ireland’s James Claffey expressed his enthusiasm for the project’s success:

“Congratulations to Illaun Farm-Forest Alliance on its great success. We extend our gratitude to everyone who supported our operational groups during the EIP-AGRI Innovation Awards.”

The achievement highlights the importance of collaboration and innovation in addressing agricultural challenges.

It underscores Illaun Farm-Forest Alliance’s commitment to sustainability and serves as testament to the power of collective action in driving positive change.

There were six categories at the EIP-AGRI Innovation Awards, which were organised by the EU CAP Network.

The network is a forum through which national CAP networks, organisations, administrations, researchers, entrepreneurs and practitioners can share knowledge and information about agriculture and rural policy.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued a ‘Condition Orange’ forest fire warning for the coming days.

Due to the current weather patterns, the department said that a high fire-risk is deemed to exist in all areas where “hazardous fuels” such as dead grasses and shrub fuels like gorse and heather are present.

The warning is currently set to remain in place until 12:00p.m on Monday, May 13.

The department said that that the “high-pressure dominated” weather will bring settled conditions and higher temperatures across the country.

While some areas may receive isolated rain showers during this time, most areas can be expected to see dry weather, light to moderate winds, higher temperatures and strongly elevated fire risks in areas with fire-prone vegetation types.

Fire warning

In the event that fires do occur, DAFM said that fire behaviour is likely to be moderated by increased live fuels growth, particularly in upland grasses.

However, it said that fires may be adversely influenced by light and variable winds.

Forest owners, farmers, rural dwellers and other countryside users are asked to be extremely vigilant regarding fire activity, to report any suspicious or illegal activity to the Gardaí and to report all fires immediately to the Fire and Emergency Services via 112/999.

All forest owners and managers are being advised to prepare for likely outbreaks of fire.

The department said that fire lines, fire plans, fire suppression equipment should be reviewed and made ready.

Owners and managers of forestry should also check that insurance and helicopter contracts are checked and confirmed.

They should also consider the fire mitigation measures that they can put in place to help prevent loss or damage to forest resources through fire

The department said that it is an offence to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated between March 1 and August 31, in any year.

It added that landowners found burning illegally could face fines, imprisonment and single farm payment penalties.

The department reminded members of the public who are planning on visiting forests not to use barbeques or open fires at any stage.

Visitors to the countryside should be considerate in parking vehicles so as not to impede access by emergency vehicles.

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Independent TD for Laois-Offaly, Carol Nolan has called for an “urgent review” of the recently announced €79.5 million support package for farmers whose forests have been impacted by ash dieback.

A payment of €5,000/ha will be available to all ash forest owners who have, or will, “fully engage” with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s (DAFM) ash dieback schemes to clear sites and carry out replanting.

This payment will be paid in three installments. Ash forest owners who have cleared and replanted will receive an upfront payment of €2,500. Two annual payments of €1,250 each will then follow at the second and third grant stage after four years, according to the director of forestry at the DAFM, Barry Delany.

Deputy Nolan raised the matter in the Dáil with Taoiseach Simon Harris following her “engagement” with the Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners (LTWO) which, she said, “identified a number of flaws in the scheme”.

Ash dieback

“I know from my engagement with the LTWO that particular concerns exist around the clearance grants that are capped at €2,000/ha, while quotes for clearance are running at €6,500/ha. This means farmers will have to borrow money to clear the land,” she said.

Despite having welcomed the initial announcement of the scheme which she believes “recognised that landowners deserved to be compensated for losses outside their control”, the independent TD said:

“Unfortunately, we now see that the devil really was in the detail and, as such, I am calling for an urgent review and a significant increase in the levels of compensation that are being proposed.”

Deputy Nolan further said that the payment of €5,000/ha “does not compare with the typical losses of €40,000/ha, according to independent forestry valuation”.

“What is urgently needed here is a review of this scheme and a timeline for compensation to be rightfully and urgently paid to the affected landowners,” Deputy Nolan told the Dáil yesterday (Wednesday, May 8).

Taoiseach

Responding to Deputy Nolan, the Taoiseach said that Minister of State at the DAFM with responsibility for land use and biodiversity, Pippa Hackett “has worked really hard on this for a sustained period of time”.

“I am really pleased we have got to the point of having a scheme to provide financial assistance. It has been a very stressful time for so many farmers and foresters. I know the deputy welcomes the scheme.

“If the deputy wants to write to me about the concerns arising in Limerick and Tipperary, I will ask the Minister of State [Pippa Hackett] to engage on it, the Taoiseach said.

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The Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett, has warned today (Wednesday, May 8) that plant pests “know no borders” and that trade can facilitate the introduction of plant pests.

But the minister, who has special responsibility for horticulture at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) also stressed that international trade is a “key part of our economy” and everyone has a role to play in protecting plant health.

The United Nations has designated May 12 as ‘International Day of Plant Health’ to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect biodiversity and the environment and boost economic development.  

Plant health

DAFM today hosted a conference in Dublin which focused on Ireland’s approach to plant health and biosecurity, while facilitating trade opportunities.

During the conference the audience heard from a range of expert speakers on DAFM’s approach to risk anticipation, risk management and surveillance, risk awareness and communication and safe trade.  

Minister Hackett said: “International Day of Plant Health is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of plant health, and of the actions we can and do take to keep our plants healthy and ensure food security and safe trade for sustainable economies, livelihoods and natural environments.”

She also added that it was “increasingly important” that Ireland continued to scan the horizon for the potential threats of pests and disease and that it had contingency plans in place.

“In the last year, we have had various pest outbreaks in Ireland.  These outbreaks have been managed under our General Plant Health Contingency Plan which we published last year following stakeholder consultation. 

“These contingency plans are important as they set out the procedures to be followed and the measures to be taken in the event of an outbreak of a regulated pest, which could have the potential to cause significant economic, environmental and social impact.

“There are structures and arrangements in place globally, regionally and nationally to support the protection of plant health,” the minister said.

Following the DAFM event conference participants got the opportunity to your the border control post at Dublin Port to see first-hand the department’s plant health inspection facilities.

Bark beetle

The threat posed by invasive species and current biosecurity measures that are in place in Ireland have been under the spotlight because of the potential threat posed to Irish forestry from the spruce bark beetle.

The spruce bark beetle, which has been detected across the UK, tunnels into the bark of living trees to lay eggs and the larvae then feed on the living woody material. This forms cavities which can weaken the tree and eventually kill it.

In response to a parliamentary questions raised by Sinn Féin TD, Martin Browne, last week the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine stressed that biosecurity measures are in place in Ireland for the importation of plants and plant products “in order to help prevent the entry of harmful pests”.

Minister Charlie McConalogue added: “The specifics of the import requirements are set out in the Plant Health Regulation EU 2016/2031 and Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/2072.

“This legislative framework is established upon scientific knowledge and available information about known pests and their pathway for potential movement from country to country”.

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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has said that the Climate Resilient Reforestation Pilot Scheme will open for applications shortly.

The proposed pilot scheme aims to provide supports at reforestation that incentivise species and structural diversity.

According to the minister this can result in an increase in the resilience and adaptiveness of the forest land to climate related threats.

The pilot scheme is part of the government’s Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027 which was approved last September.

Reforestation scheme

Minister McConalogue said that many forests in Ireland have been established and managed under “an even-aged management structure”.

“There is a need for a greater balance between these and forests managed under closer to nature silviculture, such as continuous cover forestry and semi-natural forest,” he said.

He explained that this intervention would be delivered through a reforestation scheme with three elements:

• Reforestation for continuous cover forestry;
• Reforestation for native woodlands;
• Reforestation for biodiversity and water protection.

In response to a parliamentary question from Independent Tipperary TD Michael Lowry, Minister McConalogue said that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is currently developing an online application system for the scheme.

“It is our intention to launch it in the coming weeks,” he said.

“All elements will be subject to my department’s forestry standards, including the accepted species, origin and provenance list.

“Grant funding will be available and can be used for measures that ensure successful re-establishment, such as planting, plant protection (e.g. fencing) and maintenance,” the minister added.

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Over 25,000t of logs have been imported into Ireland from Scotland so far in 2024, according to figures provided by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue to the Dáil earlier this week.

These imports, primarily spruce logs with bark, are from the Scottish Pest-Free Area (PFA). The area remains free of the Great Spruce Bark beetle, Dendroctonous micans, which is the primary bark beetle of concern to Ireland, the minister said.

This beetle has not been found in Ireland and biosecurity measures are in place for the importation of plants and plant products, including coniferous roundwood originating in the Scottish PFA and wood packaging material, he added.

The PFA status is established and maintained by Scottish authorities according to international standards. As long as the area remains pest free, trade can be permitted under the phytosanitary trade rules of the World Trade Organisation, he said.

“Imports of untreated coniferous roundwood with bark into Ireland are prohibited from areas known to be affected by quarantine bark beetle species. 

“The only area internationally from which this type of import can be made into Ireland is the PFA in the west of Scotland,” Minister McConalogue said in response to a question by Sinn Féin TD for Tipperary, Martin Browne.

Scottish log imports

The following table sets out by year the tonnage of logs, primarily spruce logs with bark, imported into Ireland from the Scottish PFA from 2020 to April 26, 2024:

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), has negotiated an agreement with the Scottish authorities to increase the area within the pest-free zone from which imports to Ireland are no longer taking place, the minister added.

Beetle present in Ireland

Separate to the situation with the log imports from Scotland, the DAFM announced the first finding of the Monterey Pine Engraver beetle, Pseudips mexicanus, in the Cratloe area of Co. Clare in December 2023.

Scientific research and information supported by DNA analysis indicate this beetle is a species of North and Central America and, in this case, has specifically identified Mexico as the origin of this bark beetle, the minister said.

“It is not a species which occurs in Scotland. Spruce, the predominant species traded between Scotland and Ireland, is not known to be a host of this beetle.

“The finding of the Monterey Pine Engraver beetle is not connected with the trade in logs from the Scottish PFA. The distribution of the Monterey Pine Engraver beetle and possible pathway for its introduction are under ongoing investigation,” he added.

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The winners of this year’s RDS forestry and livestock awards have been announced at the two-day RDS summit on biodiversity and sustainability starting today (Thursday, May 2).

The event under the theme ‘Finding Common Ground’ will discuss issues around biodiversity and sustainability through an “evidence-based” lens across agriculture, arts, equestrian, enterprise, and science and technology.

As part of the programme, the RDS forestry and livestock awards took place today and nine awards were presented to foresters and farmers showing best practice in adopting environmentally conscious, forward-looking practices.  

RDS forestry awards winners

Community Woodlands Award – Mallow Castle Demense and Town Park, Co. Cork

Mallow Castle Demesne and Town Park consists of 88ac of woodlands and parks nestled in the heart of Mallow town, adjacent to the River Blackwater located at the crossroads of Munster. Cork County Council bought Mallow Castle and its estate in 2011.

Cork County Council has undertaken significant native tree planting and biodiversity works in the grounds to build upon the historic planting already in place. The aim is to create a natural outdoor amenity for the community while promoting local biodiversity.

Production Forestry Award – Ross Buchanan, Carndonagh, Co. Donegal

The award was open to farmers and landowners using sound silvicultural management. Buchanan’s woodland is almost as far north as it is possible to go, and contains what is probably the most northerly oak stand being managed for quality timber on the island.

The woodland is a diverse mixture of productive stands being managed using a range of management styles and objectives. Buchanan’s products include the use of spruce brash for stream stabilisation and wood chip for suppression of Japanese knotweed.

Teagasc Farm-Forestry Award – Derek and Yvonne McCabe, Co. Cavan

The McCabe’s have been recognised for having the vision and foresight to future-proof their farm and combine commercial forestry with their organic farming operation, thus ensuring the viability of their farm for the current next generation.

They planted their first 8ha in 1990 and progressively built it up to 70ha of commercial woodland. They are suckler farmers with mixed pedigree angus and continental breeds. They also breed Irish Draught horses and have had a wood business on the farm since 2010. 

Native Woodland Conservation Award – Coill an Fhaltaigh, Kilkenny

Coill an Fhaltaigh occupies the entire townland of woodlands on the outskirts of Kilkenny city and is the largest of the Peoples Millennium Forests. In the 17th century the wood was part of the Brittas Estate home to the O’Rourke family. 

The woodlands came into state possession in the 1930’s and it was replanted in 1950’s. A recent survey of plant life of Coill an Fhaltaigh found that 125 different species were present which are mainly oak and ash trees with a lot of alder, hazel and birch.

Livestock awards winners

The RDS livestock awards highlight those farmers who are at the forefront of the economic and environmental sustainability of Irish agriculture. The awards are linked to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and Sheep Ireland databases.

RDS-ICBF Euro-Star Replacement Index Award – Ciarán Lenehan

Lenehan is heavily engaged in various schemes such as the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme (BEEP), and more recently the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).

ICBF have nominated Lenehan for the Best Beef Cow Award for one of his cows which is an “excellent example” of a good replacement index commercial cow. She has an “exceptional” replacement index figure of €263, according to the RDS.

RDS-ICBF Euro-Star Herd Award – Paul Keating, Co. Wexford

Keating operates a suckler-to-beef system and currently has 69 commercial suckler cows. The most recent 2023 figures for the herd showed an average calving interval of just 369 days, with calves per cow per year running at 0.97.

He uses 100% artificial insemination (AI), and his current replacement index is €134 which lies in the top 5% nationally. Keating takes several Beef Gene Ireland straws each year. The use of these Gene Ireland bulls forms a key part of the farm’s annual breeding plan.

RDS-ICBF Economic Breeding Index Award – Donal Martin Murphy, Co. Wexford

Murphy won the award for a dam of AI bull FR6772 who came through the ICBF Gene Ireland Programme in 2021. This bull has 7,057 dairy calving records in the database which is “extremely impactful” on the overall industry, the RDS said.

He operates a split calving herd of cows, calving 40-50% of the herd in October/November with the remainder in the spring. He tries to maximise the inclusion of grass in the diet. Maize and beet is used in the winter diet to complement high-quality grass silage.

RDS-ICBF Dairy EBI Herd Award – Terry Cassin, Co. Kilkenny

Cassin is the 6th generation of his family to farm in Bennettsbridge. Together with his wife Ann and their four children, he has 72 cows and their followers on 100ac between owned and rented land in a spring-calving system.

His herd is an “excellent example” of how the economic breeding index (EBI) makes a “positive impact”. The current herd EBI is €268 which is in the top 1% nationally, according to the RDS. He has been participating in the ICBF Gene Ireland Programme since 2006.

RDS-Sheep Ireland LambPlus Award – Jim and Frampton Jeffery

The Jeffery’s run a flock of pedigree Charollais, Suffolk and Texel ewes. They constantly strive to improve their genetics in the texel flock through the purchase of physically correct stockrams, true to breed type with superior indexes on the LambPlus system.

Last year proved to be an “excellent” year for them with one of the leading averages at the Sheep Ireland sale. Four rams sold from an average of 1425gns to a top of 1700gns, according to the RDS.

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The Social, Economic and Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) has cautiously welcomed the announcement of support for forest owners affected by ash dieback, but said it “awaits further detail”.

Yesterday (Tuesday, April 30), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine announced a long-awaited package of supports, including improved grant rates for clearing and replanting, as well as a separate €5,000/ha payment for those who engage in clearing and replanting.

The Ash Dieback Action Plan has been broadly welcomed as a step forward, though concerns remain that the funding does not adequately compensate ash plantation owners for their losses, among other issues.

SEEFA said that precise details concerning timelines, exact requirements, and the terms and conditions landowners face, have yet to be established.

SEEFA chairperson Padraig Egan said: “We fully support all assistance provided to landowners and farmers on vital issues like ash dieback.

“We believe this package will encourage more landowners to enter the scheme and will help us toward our environmental goals, adding more active carbon sequestering forests,” Egan added.

SEEFA said that, over “a decade of inaction and poor policy, Irish foresters have been unable to move past ash dieback”.

SEEFA criticised the government for failing, thus far, to convene a taskforce on ash dieback, despite it having already been established.

“We must remain cautious. We are disappointed that the taskforce SEEFA was invited on never met and was not consulted before this announcement,” Egan said.

“Additionally, the resources provided in the package in no way cover maintenance and may leave forest owners at a loss,” he added.

The organisation said that it awaits further details and welcomes further communication from the department, and that it “looks forward to farmers and landowners getting much needed compensation”.

Ash Dieback Action Plan

The comments from SEEFA echo those of Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture, food and the marine Claire Kerrane, who said earlier that the action plan is a “step in the right direction”, but that questions still remain.

The Roscommon-Galway TD said that the government “has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to forestry, and particularly regarding ash dieback”.

“This announcement at least signals that they have finally woken up,” Kerrane said.

However, she added: “Detail on the scheme is now needed, and clear communication must be made with farmers and forestry owners affected by ash dieback on what the announcement means for them.

“I am already hearing questions about the absence of some of the 13 recommendations made by the independent review last year in the action plan,” Kerrane said.

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The government’s ash dieback scheme is “a step in the right direction”, however questions still remain, according to Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture, Claire Kerrane.

The Cabinet yesterday (Tuesday, April 30) approved the ‘Ash Dieback Action Plan’, which will provide increased grant rates for clearing and replanting on affected ash plantations.

A €5,000/ha Climate Action Performance Payment (CAPP) will be provided to affected forest owners, separate from the clearing and replanting grants.

Additionally, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed that there will be a 100% increase in the site clearance grant rate, from €1,000 to €2,000, under the Forestry Programme.

Ash dieback

Deputy Claire Kerrane said that the announcement of the long-awaited support scheme has come almost eight months after the publication of an independent review on the government’s response to addressing the tree disease.

“Although very delayed, the announcement of some additional supports for farmers and forestry owners affected by ash dieback is a step in the right direction.

“I have been consistently asking Minister [of State Pippa] Hackett to publish the action plan, following the independent review which was published last September and which described the situation as a ‘national emergency’,” Deputy Kerrane said.

The Roscommon-Galway TD said that the government has “been asleep at the wheel when it comes to forestry, and particularly regarding ash dieback”.

“This announcement at least signals that they have finally woken up,” she said.

Farmers

Deputy Kerrane said the delay in the publishing of a support scheme has taken a toll on the mental health of farmers who have been impacted by the disease on their plantations.

“Detail on the scheme is now needed, and clear communication must be made with farmers and forestry owners affected by ash dieback on what the announcement means for them.

“I am already hearing questions about the absence of some of the 13 recommendations made by the independent review last year in the action plan,” she said.

The TD noted that a recommendation for DAFM to “explore the potential of a one-off ex-gratia payment to be paid to each landowner as recognition of the absence of an effective scheme between 2018 and 2023” has not been mentioned.

Deputy Kerrane has asked Minister Hackett to confirm if this was explored and if financial aid for such a paid could be secured at EU level.

“I would also like the minister to confirm if she considered that some landowners will not be in a position to re-plant, some will not live to see the financial benefit of any new plantations and others, simply have had enough. That cohort needs to be considered.

“Engagement with the sector is crucial if the announced scheme is to work for affected farmers and forestry owners, we cannot see the new scheme just left as before, the minister needs to ensure it actually works,” she said.

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The Ash Dieback Action Plan, which received cabinet approval today (Tuesday, April 30) is a “positive step” to restoring the “eroded confidence” of farmers in forestry, according to one senator.

Tim Lombard said that the supports announced today may be a “catalyst to drive the Forestry Programme forward”.

A €5,000/ha payment will be provided to affected forest owners, separate from the clearing and replanting grants.

That payment, officially called a ‘Climate Action Performance Payment’ (CAPP) will be made available to all forest owners who have, or will, “fully engage” with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s ash dieback schemes to clear sites and carry out replanting.

Additionally, the department has confirmed that there will be a 100% increase in the site clearance grant rate, from €1,000 to €2,000, under the Forestry Programme. Enhanced replanting grant rates have also been announced, with approximately 20% additional funding available, depending on forest types.

Lombard, the vice-chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said: “The committee has pushed hard for a resolution for impacted farmers and I’m pleased that we finally have a significant package in place.

“We’ve seen the impact of ash dieback in plantations across the country. We all have neighbours hit by this. It’s been horrendous for those farmers affected,” he added.

“As much as anything, this has been a drain on their mental health, having to stand by and watch trees slowly die on their land.”

Lombard said that the affected forest owners have been “in limbo” for over 10 years.

“The support package announced this week is a long time coming and badly needed,” he said.

The Fine Gael agriculture spokesperson added: “Farmers’ confidence in forestry has been eroded and these supports are a positive step forward in restoring confidence. Farm forestry can be an attractive additional option for farmers.

“I would hope that this might be the catalyst to drive the new Forestry Programme forward now,” Lombard commented.

However, other reactions to the action plan were more mixed, with the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) saying that the payment “in no way compensates farmers for the financial loss incurred or the emotional toll the disease has taken on them and their families”.

IFA forestry chair Jason Fleming acknowledged that it is the first time that farmers’ financial loss is recognised and that, for some, the payment will provide some financial relief.

The IFA forestry chair said that farmers are waiting to see the terms and conditions attached to the payment, as “a lot of unanswered questions remain”.

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The cabinet has formally given its approval to an ‘Ash Dieback Action Plan’, which will provide increased grant rates for clearing and replanting on affected ash plantations.

As reported earlier, a €5,000/ha payment will be provided to affected forest owners, separate from the clearing and replanting grants.

That payment, officially called a ‘Climate Action Performance Payment’ (CAPP) will be made available to all forest owners who have, or will, “fully engage” with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s ash dieback schemes to clear sites and carry out replanting.

Additionally, the department has confirmed that there will be a 100% increase in the site clearance grant rate, from €1,000 to €2,000, under the Forestry Programme.

Enhanced replanting grant rates have also been announced, with approximately 20% additional funding available, depending on forest types.

For example, forest type 12 (conifers) will receive €3,858/ha, while forest type 1 (native trees) will receive €6,744/ha, and agroforestry will receive €8,555/ha.

Those applicants whose sites are still in premium will continue to receive the premium due for the remaining years. They will also receive a once-off top-up payment equivalent to the difference between the existing premium and the associated new forest type premium under the new programme.

For example, a farmer with seven years remaining premium who enters into the Reconstitution Scheme to plant native forest will be entitled to receive a lump sum payment of approximately €3,336/ha.

According to the department, the total funding available to ash plantation owners under the new plan is over €230 million.

Commenting on the plan, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue said: “This Action Plan demonstrates the determination of my department to deal definitively with the ash dieback issue, and to fully address the concerns of farmers and other landowners, as outlined in the Independent Review Group’s report.

Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for land use and biodiversity, said: “[The] department will now put the necessary arrangements in place to follow through on the actions as outlined. Indeed, much of this work is already under way.”

Minister Hackett also confirmed that she would be establishing a sub-group of the recently-convened Forestry Strategy Consultative Committee, which is compromised of relevant stakeholders, to facilitate a coordinated response and a “swift implementation” of the action plan.

That subgroup, which Minister Hackett referred to as a “taskforce”, will meet in the coming weeks, she said.

‘Mixed reaction’ to ash dieback payment

Reacting to these developments, Jason Fleming, the chairperson of the Irish Farmers’ Association’s (IFA’s) Farm Forestry Committee, said that there is a “very mixed reaction” to the details.

“Let’s be clear. This payment in no way compensates farmers for the financial loss incurred or the emotional toll the disease has taken on them and their families. But it is the first time within the scheme that a farmer’s financial loss is recognised,” he said.

Fleming said that many farmers with ash were relying on the income of these forests for their pensions and this payment is only a “drop in the ocean”. However, for others, the payment will provide some financial relief, he said.

“Farmers remain concerned that the clearance grant of €2,000/ha and afforestation grants are not sufficient to cover the costs of re-establishing some of these forests, particularly older ones, and these costs will eat into farmers’ payments.”

The IFA forestry chair said that farmers are waiting to see the terms and conditions attached to the payment, as “a lot of unanswered questions remain”.

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Afforestation licences are running almost 60% where they need to be at this stage of the year, according to the Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association (SEEFA).

The latest forestry dashboard published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for the week ending last Friday (April 26), shows that just two afforestation licences were issued.

“This shocking result for the week is the worst of the year so far and is not even 15% of what is required to keep up with target pace,” SEEFA said.

Afforestation

The department has received 239 afforestation applications to date this year and has issued 159 licences relating to 1,167ha.

This has already surpassed the 789ha for which afforestation licences were granted in 2023.

Under the Climate Action Plan, the government is aiming to afforest 8,000ha annually to 2030.

Up to April 26, 326ha of forestry was planted, however, the department noted the figures for trees planted reflect afforestation that had been paid at first grant stage this year to date only.

The latest data shows that 58 afforestation licences covering 389ha that were previously granted, are now approved under the new scheme.

Up to April 26, 155 licences had been issued under the Native Area Tree Scheme (NTAS) relating to 160ha.

DAFM

So far this year, DAFM has issued 367 private felling licences and 251 Coillte felling licences covering 7,302ha.

329 licences have been granted for some 110km of forestry roads, which has surpassed the 87km granted across all of last year.

The department said that 23 appeals have been received this year in relation to afforestation, 10 for tree felling and three for forestry roads.

The data also shows that 346 applications have been granted under the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme covering 1,258ha.

62 applications have been approved for the Deer Tree Shelter Scheme (DTS), along with 34 applications for the Woodland Improvement Scheme (WIS).

Forestry

Commenting on the latest data, SEEFA has claimed that the government’s new Forestry Programme “urgently needs to be fixed”.

“Landowners do not see afforestation as a promising use of their land and are facing significant challenges.

“Their applications are highly likely to be rejected, and even if approved, they are forced to endure a lengthy waiting period.

“The licensing backlog, which was supposed to be resolved by the new programme, is escalating, with almost half of the applications received this year being rejected or still pending,” it said.

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A member of the Seanad has said that the “electoral cycle” has helped to progress a new scheme on ash dieback, which is coming before cabinet today (Tuesday, April 30).

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State for land use and biodiversity Pippa Hackett are set to seek a €79.5 million package for farmers and landowners impacted by the disease.

The funding will be used to provide for a €5,000/ha payment to farmers who clear ash sites and re-establish new forests in their place.

Initial reactions in the political sphere to this long-awaited development have been broadly positive.

Senator Victor Boyhan said that the upcoming European and local elections in June have helped move the proposal forward.

“Clearly the electoral cycle has helped progress this package, at this point in time… That’s political leverage coming from farmers and rural voters, being canvassed across the constituencies at this time, democracy at work,” Boyhan said.

Boyhan, a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said that he was “keen to study the detail and level of compensation” as it may be “too little, too late” for many farmers and foresters.

“Grants for the farmers and landowners under the scheme are expected to cover the costs of felling, clearing and re-establishing the sites impacted by ash dieback, that’s where the focus will have to be.

“Pension funds and investors in forestry have been devastated by this fungal disease, their investments have wilted, and growers have lost confidence in the sector too,” the senator added.

He said that today’s package must substantially cover the costs and recompense farmers, foresters and investors for the loss of expected timber yields.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Oireachtas agriculture committee, Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill, said that the scheme will be of financial benefit to plantation owners.

“The Oireachtas committee…has had a number of sessions on ash dieback and we’ve continuously raised the issue of compensation for these landowners and farmers.

“€5,000/ha, in addition to the grants for clearing and replanting already in place, will be of financial benefit to these plantation owners,” Cahill said.

“Obviously, it doesn’t compensate for the huge loss of income, but it’s a substantial increase for those affected, and farmers who have already availed of previous ash dieback schemes will qualify for this payments,” he added.

Outside of the Oireachtas agriculture committee, Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan – a frequent critic of the government’s forestry policy – also welcomed the scheme.

“I think the first thing to be said regarding this development is that it is about time,” Noland said.

She added: “We all know that the failure of government to provide pragmatic solutions to the ash dieback crisis has caused untold reputational damage to the sector and incalculable levels of stress for farmers and those within the forestry sector who relied on ash as an income stream.”

She, like Boyhan, cited the upcoming elections.

“We now have the outlines of a package that I sincerely hope will not turn into another bureaucratic mess. We need a working, accessible scheme and not just a headline for the ministers prior to the local elections,” Nolan said.

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A long-awaited proposal to provide funding for forest owners affected by ash dieback is to be brought to cabinet today (Tuesday, April 30).

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State for land use and biodiversity Pippa Hackett, are set to seek a €79.5 million package for farmers and landowners impacted by the disease.

The funding will be used to provide for a €5,000/ha payment to farmers who clear ash sites and re-establish new forests in their place.

The average payout under the scheme is expected to be €15,000, based on an average ash plantation size of 3ha.

A forest owner with 10ha of ash will be eligible to receive up to €50,000.

These payments are separate to further grants covering the cost of clearing and re-establishing the site.

Farmers who have already cleared and re-established sites under previous ash dieback schemes will also qualify for this €5,000/ha payment.

It is understood that responses to this development from industry stakeholders is set to be somewhat mixed, with news of a new scheme being broadly welcomed, but with some questions over the value of ash plantations that have been lost.

A scheme of this type has been in the works for a considerable period.

Minister Hackett had previously said that a scheme was being finalised and would be published in the “very near future”.

However, no concrete timeline was ever put forward until today.

The apparent delay to the publication of the scheme drew the ire of forestry stakeholders and opposition politicians.

Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on agriculture, food and the marine, Claire Kerrane, said earlier this month that there was “a lot of pulling in different directions” from government on what should and should not be included in the scheme.

The Roscommon-Galway TD had made the comment after meeting with the Wexford county executive of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).

Kerrane said that, from speaking to farmers with affected ash plantations, ash dieback was “really impacting” their mental health.

“They, and many other farmers across the state, are at their wits’ end and have waited long enough.

Last October, an independent review of support for farmers impacted by ash dieback had said that the tree disease “needs to be treated as a national emergency”.

The review – which was commissioned by Minister Hackett – said that ash dieback requires a state-led national and rapid coordinated response.

The review suggested a once-off payment to be made to each affected landowner “as recognition of the absence of an effective scheme between 2018 and 2023”.

According to the review, it should be made clearer that the cost of site clearance and regeneration should be borne by the state, with any remaining value from the timber staying with the landowner.

The review said that the current clearance grant of €2,000 is reasonable, but additional “exceptional costs” should be considered for particularly challenging cases.

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Pre-tax profits at the semi-state forestry company, Coillte, slumped by more than €60 million to €61.5 million for 2023 according to latest financial results published today (Thursday, April 25).

The company, which manages 440,000ha or 7% of Ireland’s land, had reported pre-tax profits of €122.3 million in 2022.

Its latest set of financial results also highlight that Coillte’s annual turnover fell to €413.8 million in 2023 compared to a reported turnover of €478.7 million a year earlier.

The results also show that it paid a dividend to the State in 2023 totaling €17.7 million – in 2022 its dividend payment to the State was €27.7 million.

Coillte refinanced its existing debt facilities last year which it said has resulted “in the availability of €150 million in revolving debt facilities”. It ended the year with net cash of €65 million.

Coillte’s chief executive, Imelda Hurley, said today that the semi-state company had faced “significant headwinds” last year.

“Against the backdrop of volatile market conditions, high inflationary pressures, rising interest rates, lower end-market demand in our core markets and lower prices, Coillte delivered a solid financial performance with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of €106 million and operating cash of €43 million.

“While this financial outturn represented a decline on the highs of recent years, the business delivered the fourth highest financial performance in its 35 year history,” Hurley added.

She also outlined that the impact of a reduction in global demand for sawlog, Oriented Strand Board (OSB) and Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) products had resulted in price reductions across key markets for these products including in Ireland, UK and EU.

When Coillte was first established as a commercial semi-state company in 1989, it was responsible for managing a forest estate of 396,000ha.

Over the last 35 years, the organisation has grown the area under management to 440,000ha.

It currently employs more than 800 people directly, and in the region of 1,200 contractors.

Coillte

According to its chief executive Coillte’s “relevance to society is ever increasing”.

It is the largest provider of outdoor recreation spaces in Ireland with 12 forest parks, 260 recreational areas and 3,000km of walking trails in the country.

It is also one of the biggest suppliers of roundwood to the Irish wood processing sector with in the region of three million cubic meters produced each year.

According to Coillte in 2023 almost 8,000ha of land was reforested with 18 million trees and construction of the first windfarm in FuturEnergy Ireland – a joint venture with ESB – was also completed during the year.

This year the semi-state company said it will “advance investment plans in Medite Smartply – Coillte’s market panel board business – and in FuturEnergy, Ireland as well as in “nature restoration projects of scale”.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has spent a total of €37.8 million on afforestation during the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 which is down 4% on the same period last year.

The sum was spent on the establishment of new forests (first grant), the second portion of the grant for forest establishment (due on the 4th planting anniversary), and for premiums paid annually, the DAFM said.

At €35.7 million, the bulk of the sum was paid in the form of premiums to 7,686 forest owners of which 6,341 are farmers who received a total of €29.1 million, according to DAFM figures.

First-grant payments worth €1.31 million were made to 38 forest owners. Of these, 20 are farmers who received €857,038. Second-grant payments amounted to €828,641 paid to 120 forest owners of which 62 farmers received €387,510.

In Q1 2023, the DAFM’s spending on afforestation was €39.6 million. The DAFM said this drop is partly due to the “banking of premiums” as individuals “often” choose to allow their premiums to build up and to claim them at a future date.

The table below outlines expenditure by the DAFM on all forestry schemes in Q1 2024:

DAFM forestry divisions

Figures provided by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue show that the pay costs of the three DAFM forestry divisions – including salaries, travel and subsistence and overtime – in Q1 2024 were €2.51 million.

Within the DAFM there is a Forestry (Admin) Division, a Forest Sector Development (FSD) Division, and a Forestry Inspectorate Division which includes ecology and archaeology.

In 2022 and 2023, the yearly pay costs, based on the midpoints of individual salary scales, including travel and subsistence and overtime, in the forestry divisions were €8.94 million and €10.25 million respectively.

The table below shows the current full-time staff working across the three divisions. These figures are not static and fluctuate due to staff movements, promotions and transfers during the year, the minister said.

The minister noted that, as not all staff in the admin (forestry) division are working full time, the figures listed in the table represent the number of hours a staff member works, rather than the number of staff in the division.

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Coillte has said it will engage with stakeholders, including Galway County Council, to “work through” potential options to deliver on its ambition to redesign 30,000ha of peatland forests by 2050.

The semi-state body confirmed that it will not appeal Galway County Council’s recent decision to refuse planning permission for Coillte’s proposed peatland rehabilitation project in Derryclare Co. Galway.

Coillte sought a 10-year planning permission to restore and rehabilitate 281ha of Atlantic blanket bog and heathland which is currently planted with lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce forests. It also planned to convert 62ha of forestry to native woodland.

In a statement to Agriland, Coillte said it “remains fully committed” to its ambition to redesign 30,000ha of peatland forests by 2050 for “climate and ecological benefits”.

“Coillte will engage with its key stakeholders, including Galway County Council, to work through potential options for delivering on its ambition going forward,” according to the statement.

Coillte

While the site itself, for which Coillte requested planning permission, is not the subject of any designations, it sits immediately abounding the Twelve Bens/Garraun Complex Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

In its decision last month, Galway County Council said that “adverse impacts” on the integrity of the SAC and Connemara Bog Complex SAC and other European sites “cannot be excluded”.

The refusal is “a big disappointment”, Coillte’s recently appointed chair designate, Vivienne Jupp told the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine last week.

“It is disappointing to us. We are going to have to take a good look at it and see whether we can engage with the county councils.

“This is potentially something that will arise with other county councils because they are the ones who take a look at these planning applications, and we need to get the proper authority to move forward with it,” Jupp told the committee.

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Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher has called for an urgent review of the Forestry Strategy to ensure the country meets its planting target of 8000 ha/annum.

The Fianna Fáil representative was speaking after meeting with stakeholders and experts at a special meeting hosted by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) in Cratloe Forest Park, Co. Clare today (Thursday, April 18).

The event organised by IFA Forestry Committee chair Jason Fleming discussed the challenges currently facing the forestry sector.

Forestry

Following the meeting, MEP Kelleher said that “foresters are concerned about their viability into the future”.

He said that in the short term foresters and farmers are “very worried” about the potential impact of the spruce bark beetle on Irish commercial forestry and the ongoing issues around ash dieback.

“What is most concerning is the lack of confidence in meeting the State’s forestry targets. In recent months, we are seeing incredibly low planting levels. Unless something changes, I do not see how we can meet our national targets.

“Some of the ratios in terms of tree types do not make an attractive commercial option. This needs to be looked at if we are to make progress on our targets,” he said.

The Forest Strategy, which covers the period to 2030, was published by government last September.

It aims to significantly increase the diversity and range of Irish forests, with the objective of contributing to biodiversity, sustainability and climate change goals.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued 145 afforestation licences so far this year, relating to 1,076ha.

“In bilateral meetings I organised, farmers and foresters just don’t see a path forward for their enterprises unless a review takes place and changes are made.

“Central to their concerns is the feeling that there are too many impediments in their way, and this is causing significant levels of uncertainty in the sector,” Kelleher said.

On the issue of ash dieback, the MEP said that it is “essential that a compensation scheme is announced”.

“Forestry has the capacity to provide alterative income sources for farmers and landowners. It can help meet our climate targets. However, the strategy needs to be workable. It’s time for a review,” Kelleher said.

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A study conducted by the University of Oxford has concluded that bats can be “valuable allies” for farmers by feeding on important agricultural and forestry pests.

The study was released today (Wednesday, April 17), on International Bat Appreciation Day, and the findings demonstrate that encouraging bat species can be a win-win for both conservation efforts and local farmers.

The study analysed the diet of the three bat species living on the sub-tropical island of Madeira, Portugal, and the research revealed that they were feeding on over 50 different species between them.

Overall, 40% (23) of the identified species were likely or confirmed agricultural or forestry pests.

These pests include banana moths (Opogona sacchari), an agricultural pest that impacts banana trees, an important crop for the local economy in Madeira, researchers said.

Other pests eaten by the bats included turnip moths and the golden twin-spot moth (Chrysodeixis chalcites), which is a prominent pest of European greenhouse crops.

In addition, the bats were also found to feed on a parasite of humans: Psychoda albipennis, which can cause urogenital myiasis, resulting in abdominal pain, diarrhoea and burning sensations.

Associate Prof from the University of Oxford’s biology department, Ricardo Rocha, said: “Bats often get a bad rap.

“Our study highlights their significance, revealing that while their nocturnal habits and secretive lifestyle make them elusive to many, insectivorous bats play a crucial role in the ecosystems they inhabit and, through the ecosystem services they provide, they can help humans in multiple ways.”

Rocha said an increasing number of farmers are now using bat boxes to attract insectivorous bats to their fields.

“During our study, we experimented by placing some in the protected area where we were working, and to our excitement, some of these are now inhabited by the vulnerable Madeiran Pipistrelles.

“This suggests that deploying simple artificial bat roosts might lead to win-win outcomes for both conservation and local farmers.”

Bats study

The study investigated the three bat species that live on Madeira: the Madeira Pipistrelle, the Madeira Lesser Noctule and the Grey Long-eared Bat.

The research team captured then collected droppings from over 100 individual bats, before extracting DNA from the faeces to work out which species the bats were eating.

As well as the agricultural and forestry pests, the bats were also found to eat beetles, butterflies, flies, moths, and spiders.

Lead author of the study, Angelina Gonçalves of the University of Porto, said: “We anticipated that all three species would primarily feed on nocturnal butterflies; however, we did not expect that over 40% of the species detected in the bats’ diet are likely or confirmed agricultural or forestry pests.”

Collecting the bats for the study initially proved highly challenging for the research team.

The process involved using mist nets (which resemble volleyball nets) to temporarily capture individuals until their faecal samples could be collected.

However, with their echolocation abilities, the bats were easily able to evade the nets.

Gonçalves said: “Fortunately, we discovered that the bats lowered their guard when they came to drink so we changed tactics slightly and waited at strategic water points.

“In this way, we were then able to capture enough individuals to conduct our research.”

The paper ‘A metabarcoding assessment of the diet of the insectivorous bats of Madeira Island, Macaronesia’ has been published in Journal of Mammology.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued 145 afforestation licences so far this year, relating to 1,076ha.

The most recent Forestry Licensing Dashboard published by the department shows 22 licences were issued in the first two weeks of this month.

The department granted 42 afforestation licences during the month of March.

The Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association (SEEFA) said that there was a “welcomed improvement” in afforestation licence numbers last week.

“With 17 licences issued, it is only slightly short of the amount required to reach the annual target and is the second-best week of the year so far.

“However, if these weeks are possible, why have they only been achieved twice this year?

“We call on the government for transparency. They must explain why failure is the status quo when competency is possible, and why they have done nothing to change this,” SEEFA said.

Under the Climate Action Plan, the government is aiming to afforest 8,000ha annually to 2030.

Up to mid-April, 293ha of forestry was planted, however, the department noted the figures for trees planted reflect afforestation that had been paid at first grant stage this year to date only.

DAFM

The latest data shows that 52 afforestation licences covering 365ha, previously granted, are now approved under the new scheme, while 120 licences have been issued under the Native Area Tree Scheme (NTAS).

The department has issued 323 private felling licences in the period up to April 12, along with a further 224 felling licences to Coillte.

278 roads licences have been issued to cover some 94km, which has already exceeded the 87km granted in all of 2023.

The data also shows that 311 applications have been granted under the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme covering 1,148ha.

55 applications have been approved for the Deer Tree Shelter Scheme (DTS), along with 24 applications for the Woodland Improvement Scheme (WIS).

The department said that 23 appeals have been received this year in relation to afforestation, 10 for tree felling and three for forestry roads.

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Last week the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine issued the fewest afforestation licences of any single week this year, according to the Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association (SEEFA).

According to the latest forestry dashboard, for the week ending last Friday (April 5), the department issued only five afforestation licences.

Throughout last month, the week-ending figures for afforestation licences issued for each week (for which there were five, as last month had five Fridays) were as low as six and as high as 11.

Commenting on these figures, SEEFA criticised the department and the low number of afforestation licences issued.

“The department reduces the issuance of afforestation licences with impunity, holding no accountability and demonstrating no clear plan on how to resolve these issues,” the group said.

“Landowners no longer see forestry as a viable use of their land, foresters are struggling to stay afloat, and the people of Ireland are losing valuable economic and environmental value as afforestation targets are far from met,” a SEEFA statement added.

The five afforestation licences issued last week were accompanied by seven licences for forest roads construction (accounting for 1km of roads), 21 licences for private felling, and seven licences issued for Coillte felling (the total of 28 licences for felling includes three for thinning and 28 for clear felling).

The number of afforestation licences issued in April so far are nonetheless an improvement on the same month of 2023, when zero afforestation licenses were issued.

As of last Friday, 128 afforestation licences have been issued so far this year, out of 183 valid applications. The approved licences equate to 961ha of forest, which is already ahead of the total figure for all of 2023.

There have also been 305 licences issued for private felling, 219 for Coillte felling, and 260 licences issued for forest roads construction in the year to date. This brings the total number of forestry licences – across all licence types – issued this year to 912.

There have also been 118 approved applications to the Native Tree Area Scheme so far this year, accounting for 122ha.

In terms of other forestry related schemes, there have been, in the year-to-date, 290 approved applications to the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme (accounting for 1,086ha); 55 approved applications for the Deer Tree Shelter Scheme (accounting for 218ha); and 24 approved applications to the Woodland Improvement Scheme (accounting for 141ha).

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Coillte has been refused permission by Galway County Council to fell 343ha of its conifer plantation in Connemara for peatland restoration and conversion to native woodland.

In February 2023, Coillte Teoranta sought a 10-year planning permission to restore and rehabilitate approximately 281ha of Atlantic blanket bog and heathland.

The site is currently planted with lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce forests and managed for commercial forestry. Coillte also sought to convert 62ha of forestry to native woodland.

The site of the proposed development is located on the western side of the R344, approximately 5km to the north west of Recess, at Derryclare and Cloonnacartan, Co. Galway.

While the site itself is not the subject of any designations, it sits immediately abounding the Twelve Bens/Garraun Complex Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

Coillte plantation

In its decision last week, the council said that “adverse impacts” on the integrity of the SAC and Connemara Bog Complex SAC and other European sites “cannot be excluded”.

Therefore, the development would “materially contravene” several policy objectives of the Galway County Development Plan 2022-2028, according to the council’s planning decision.

The site is an existing Coillte conifer plantation which was primary planted in the 1960s. Sections of the site have been periodically harvested in the intervening years.

The plans submitted by the applicant last year also sought to control existing invasive species on site, the blocking of drains, and deer fencing to protect converted native woodland.

Coillte Teoranta also requested planning permission for resurfacing of up to 8.23km of existing forestry roads and the resurfacing of an existing car park to facilitate public access.

The approximate total site area owned by Coillte is 571ha. The site is accessed by a single vehicle width rough access track with a rough hardstanding area at the south of the gated access.

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Western Forestry Co-op CEO, Marina Conway has announced that she will step down after 11 years to “hand over the reins and pursue other opportunities”.

Conway said she is “very proud” of the work the Western Forestry Co-op has achieved under her stewardship over the past 11 years.

The co-op is at the “forefront of farm forestry, empowering farmers and local communities to be their own leaders in forestry”, she added. 

However, she believes it is time for a change and to let someone else take the co-op on the “next exciting stage” of its journey. Conway will step down at the end of June.

Conway graduated from University College Dublin (UCD) with a degree in agricultural science, and previously worked in New Zealand on the country’s emissions trading scheme.

Marina Conway

Commenting on Conway’s departure, chair Robert Hosey said: “Marina Conway has been an excellent chief executive for Western Forestry Co-op over the past eleven years.

“Marina has committed passion, drive and energy to the co-op, transforming it from a very modest business to a leader in farm forestry. 

“It has been a privilege to work with her, and on behalf of the board and the Western Forestry Co-op team, I want to thank Marina for all her efforts and wish her the very best for the future.”

The co-op was set up to provide a support structure to encourage farmers to afforest the marginal areas of their farms rather than selling the land to private investors.

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An independent TD has described a “rot” in the current government’s progress with the private forestry sector.

Independent TD for Laois-Offaly Carol Nolan has criticised the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and the Minister of state for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett in relation to Ireland’s forestry strategy.

Deputy Nolan said :“It’s as if the department or the minister’s own perspective and ambition toward the sector has been infected by the political equivalent of Ash dieback.

“It is causing havoc and untold harm to the reputational integrity of the state as a supporter of forestry enterprise.”

Deputy Nolan was speaking after the Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) said that the department’s “blatant policy to undermine private afforestation efforts in Ireland is gathering momentum,” with just six afforestation licences issued for the entire country.

SEEFA says that this brings the weekly average to just eight for March.

The association has also called on Minister McConalogue to detail the department’s actual performance versus their licencing plan for Q1 2024 per licence and scheme type.

“There is clearly a policy rot at the heart of this administration when it comes to the private forestry sector,” Deputy Nolan said.

The Laois Offaly TD said: “It is way beyond time for someone to take charge of this decline and hit reverse before the situation becomes irretrievable”.

She has called for the ministers to reverse what she describes as “the almost inexorable decline of the private forestry sector in Ireland.”

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) issued 81 afforestation licences so far this year, according to the latest forestry dashboard.

The department estimates that it will issue 1,000 afforestation licences in 2024.

To date this year, there has been 71 valid afforestation applications. 20 were issued for the final week in February.

So far this year 667ha have been planted, according to the dashboard.

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An area of 945ha has been approved for afforestation by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) so far this year, according to latest figures.

Of this total, the DAFM approved 268ha of new plantings last month. This is significantly higher than in March 2023 when no new afforestation licences were issued.

The Forestry Licensing Dashboard for the week ending on Friday, March 29, 2024, shows that an area of 273ha has been planted so far this year.

While the area approved for planting to date in 2024 is significantly higher than last year, when only 789ha were approved for afforestation all year, licence output remains low.

Afforestation

In order to achieve the government’s annual planting target of 8,000ha set under the Climate Action Plan, the DAFM would need to issues licences for 667ha per month.

In addition to the 123 afforestation licences issued year-to-date, 40 licences that were previously approved are now approved under the new scheme and allow for 269ha of plantings.

Separate to the afforestation scheme, a total of 118 applications have been approved so far this year under the Native Area Tree Scheme (NTAS) allowing for 122ha of plantings.

The NTAS allows farmers to plant up to 1ha of native woodland without a licence, or up to 2ha if they have a suitable watercourse along which to plant a riparian native woodland.

Forestry licences

In the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, the DAFM issued 253 road licences which allow for the construction of 84km of new forest roads, 284 private and 212 Coillte felling licences.

Together those felling licences allow the felling of 5,832ha so far this year. Over the past week, 39ha were approved for thinning while 116ha were approved for clear felling.

Similarly to afforestation licences, the number of road licences issued by the DAFM is now significantly higher than last year when 22 licences were issued by the end of Q1 2023.

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Forestry Industries Ireland (FII) has said that Ireland’s “once large scale” commercial forestry model has become “side-tracked” and is becoming a “small, niche activity”.

FII, which is an Ibec group representing businesses in the forestry and timber sectors, has called for the government to bring more “scalability” to the sector.

“The growth of Irish forestry has slowed considerably in recent years, and is going to cause trouble for our climate targets,” the group said.

According to FII, Ireland would save around €1 billion in “carbon costs” if it meets its forest cover target for 2050.

Mark McAuley, the director of FII, said: “Forestry is a big player in Ireland’s climate targets. We were planting over 20,000ha per annum in the 1990s when there was a strong focus on conifers and developing our national timber resources.

“This sort of scale is how forestry delivers on climate targets. Today, we are only planting around 2,000ha per annum because of ever-increasing restrictions and the dilution of the commercial model. Too much land is excluded and conifers are not being prioritised,” McAuley added.

He said that the Irish model required a “firm focus” on financial options for farmers and conifer-based commercial forestry.

“We need to inject a large dose of realism into our forestry planning and re-focus on planting commercial forests that make sense for private landowners and that provide a valuable timber resource to support home building and the low-carbon future we need.

“We need to bring things back into the real world and encourage farmers to plant valuable crops of commercial trees. All forests we plant have diverse tree species and biodiversity areas, but we need to also look after the financial return to the landowner, otherwise they won’t plant,” the FII director said.

He added: “It is naive to think Ireland can create a scalable model based solely on nature forestry and native woodland. If we want to see farmers plant in large numbers, then they have to see a good commercial return from their valuable land.”

“We need more forestry to diversify our agricultural land use and help fight climate change. To do that we need scale, and not to reduce our ambitions to only planting small areas of native woodlands,” McAuley added.

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Independent TD Michael Lowry told the Dáil that 2023 saw the lowest amount of land planted for forestry since 1946.

In 2023, 1,651ha of forestry was planted, compared to 2,273ha in 2022, and 2,016ha in 2021.

There were also 88 afforestation licences issued in 2023 compared to over 700 in 2022.

“The amount of land planted for forestry in 2023 was 1650ha, that corresponds with the lowest in the history of the state. The last time we planted as low as that was in 1946,” Deputy Lowry said.

He said farmers are “losing complete confidence” in the forestry sector and are not being provided with “appropriate recompense” for ash dieback.

Forestry programme

In response to the deputy, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that the new €1.3 billion forestry programme will provide a “significant departure from previous years where the industry was in difficulty”.

With new licenses issuing every week, the Tánaiste said it will see an increase in forestry premiums of between 46% and 66%, and farmers will receive 20 years of premium payments compared to 15 years for non-farmers. 

“A farmer planting, for example, 1ha of native broadleaf trees will receive €1,103 per year for 20 years tax free. That is approximately €22,000 for planting 1ha of land,” the Tánaiste said.

“Farmers can plant a hectare of native woodland without the need for a licence. There are certainly improvements in forestry but delivery will be key in that respect,” he added.

RZLT

Deputy Lowry also said that Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) continues to be an issue for farmers.

“The implementation of this tax is completely unfair and places a penal charge on farmers with land on the outskirts of towns and villages which is unlikely to be ever used for housing projects,” Deputy Lowry said.

“Many of the farmers adversely affected in Tipperary or north Kilkenny have already gone through the process of requesting dezoning and/or an exemption to this tax to their Local Authority and An Bord Pleanála.

“In the majority of instances, these requests have been refused. This will result in the imposition of an unaffordable and inequitable tax,” Deputy Lowry added.

The Tánaiste said that with remapping under way, the government is “endeavouring to make sure” that those who are in production and who want to continue farming are not taxed unfairly.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is to carry out a sample review of property sales in Coillte this year.

Coillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and is operationally independent from DAFM, but the department is a shareholder in Coillte.

One ordinary share is held by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, and the remainder of the issued share capital is held by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe.

As part of the Minister for Agriculture’s “oversight role”, DAFM will conduct “a review of a small random sample of records maintained for property sales by Coillte”.

This will take place during 2024, but “no timeframe has been allocated to this exercise, as yet” according to DAFM.

Coillte manages approximately 440,000ha of land, which is equivalent to 7% of the total land area of the country.

Out of this, 364,000ha is land under forest while 76,000ha is non-forested land.

Coillte

DAFM is also in the process of drafting a new Shareholder Letter of Expectation (SLOE) for Coillte with the assistance of the New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA) – which provides financial and commercial advice to government ministers and departments in relation to their shareholdings in state companies.

A SLOE is required to be updated every two years.

The next letter will “further” clarify that, as required under the Forestry Act 1988, Coillte must notify DAFM of any land sales above a value of €150,000 “however the minister cannot approve individual sales as this is an operational matter for Coillte”.

According to Coillte’s last published annual report for 2022 – its next annual report is scheduled to be published in April 2024 – the company reported pre-tax profits of €122 million on a turnover of €478 million in 2022.

It is scheduled in 2024 to develop a 10-year strategic plan for its Forest Estate Strategic Land Use Plan.

One of the project’s that the company is seeking to develop is a “People’s Millennium Forest”.

It is understood that Coillte is currently awaiting legal advice from DAFM before a memorandum of understanding (MOU) can be signed in relation to the forest project.

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Sinn Féin spokesperson for agriculture, Claire Kerrane has slammed the government’s failure to deliver a strategy to address ash dieback.

Last month, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Pippa Hackett told Deputy Kerrane that the long-awaited action plan would be submitted for approval in the “very near future”.

However, the Roscommon–Galway TD said that “there is still no sight of such a strategy, despite repeated assurances that it was imminent”.

Ash dieback

The independent review of government supports for farmers impacted by ash dieback was published in October.

It stated that the tree disease “needs to be treated as a national emergency” which “requires a state-led national and rapid coordinated response”.

Deputy Kerrane said that farmers, forestry owners and representative organisations have been calling for a government response on the issue “for some time”.

“It is unacceptable that farmers and forestry owners are still awaiting the publication of a strategy to address ash dieback.

“The extensive delays and sheer lack of action from the government on this matter cannot be described as anything other than disgraceful,” she said.

Deputy Kerrane said that she has been consistently asking Minister Hackett about when the action plan will be produced.

“She had assured me time and time again that it will be presented to Cabinet for approval in the ‘very near future’. Yet, months have passed and we still have no sight of a much-needed strategy.

“This is despite those involved in forestry highlighting the urgent need for action from a financial perspective and from a health and safety perspective,” she said.

The Sinn Féin TD added that she recently met with farmers in Co. Galway who are “really distressed that a strategy has not yet been published”.

“They are in limbo in a situation that only continues to worsen through no fault of their own.

“The minister can choose to ignore my calls, but she should not be ignoring the calls of farmers and forestry owners whose ash plantations are affected.

“Farmers and forestry owners cannot wait any longer for a strategy on ash dieback and continue to suffer as a result of her idleness on this matter.

“I am demanding that Minister Hackett publish the action plan to address ash dieback immediately. There is no more time to lose,” Deputy Kerrane said.

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Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Pippa Hackett, has today (Wednesday, March 20) made a pledge for Ireland in support of the European Union’s ‘3 Billion Trees’ initiative.

This initial pledge for Ireland is based on the number of native trees planted under the department’s afforestation schemes since May 20, 2020.

Minister Hackett said: “I am delighted to be able to say here in Brussels today that five million native trees have been planted under my department’s afforestation schemes since May 2020.

“The EU’s ‘3 Billion Trees’ pledge is an important tool for countries to help support climate, sustainability and biodiversity goals across the EU.

“Between now and 2030, under our ambitious new Forestry Programme and through Ireland’s CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] Strategic Plan, and indeed under their successor programmes, I am confident we will contribute millions more native trees towards the three billion goal.” 

3 Billion Trees pledge

Minister Hackett also noted the importance of planting a range of tree species and the importance of appropriately sited and sustainably managed conifers for producing timber.

The European Green Deal sets out commitments and targets, reinforced in the EU’s Biodiversity and Forest Strategies, for protecting and restoring nature.

One of these commitments is the pledge to plant at least three billion additional trees in the EU by 2030.

This pledge aims to roughly double the forest expansion rate in the EU achieved over the period 2005-2020 with three billion additional trees planted by 2030.

It includes the expansion of existing forests, and also focuses on new planting on agricultural land and the use of agro-forestry.

It also supports urban greening through additional planting in urban and peri-urban areas.

As well as being good for the climate, the initiative is said to help improve forest health, strengthen rural areas, and contribute to urban greening.

It comes with a roadmap to ensure that all tree planting efforts have positive impacts on the climate, environment and cities, and on the health and wellbeing of all EU citizens.

To be counted in the pledge, the tree must:

• Already be planted;
• Have been planted or sprouted after May 20, 2020;
• Must be an additional tree, not a tree that would have been planted or would have grown anyway;
• Must be a tree that benefits biodiversity and the climate, and in particular must not be an invasive alien species.

Forestry Programme

Ireland’s new Forestry Programme 2023-2027 offers a wide range of schemes to support the establishment and management of tree-planting by private landowners and public bodies.

The annual broadleaf target for this programme has increased from 30% to 50% of total annual planting.

According to DAFM, this is reflected in a substantial increase of 66% in premium rates for the establishment of native forest, with €1,103/ha available to plant native forests and €1,142/ha for native forest with water over a period of 15 or 20 years.

Minister Hackett also advised: “The Forestry Programme 2023-2027 is the most ambitious to date, and supports landowners to plant trees in a manner that provides lasting climate, biodiversity and wider societal benefits.”

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MEPs on the agriculture committee of the European Parliament have today (Tuesday, March 19), proposed changes to the rules on plant and forest reproductive material.

The European Commission last year proposed to replace the directives currently in place on the production and marketing of plant and forest reproductive material with a regulation.

The draft law on plant reproductive material aims to improve declining agro-biodiversity in the EU by increasing the variety of plant reproductive material on the market.

The proposed regulation on forest reproductive material intends to increase biodiversity and restoration of forest ecosystems, as well as to improve climate adaptation and mitigation.

MEPs adopted a report on new rules on plant reproductive material by 25 votes to two and 17 abstentions, and forest reproductive material by 32 votes to one and nine abstentions.

Plant reproductive material

Plant reproductive material is plant material, for example seeds, cuttings, trees, roots, and tubers, used for the reproduction of other plants, according to the commission.

Requirements for the production of plant reproductive material should apply not only to marketing but also to imports into the EU, agriculture MEPs said in their report.

MEPs propose to allow farmers to exchange between each other a limited quantity (set by the commission) of any type of plant reproductive material, not only seeds as proposed.

The total value of seeds and planting stock used in EU agriculture was €13.3 billion in 2021. Around 2 million hectares of EU land are used for the production of certified seed.

To support the conservation of plant genetic resources, MEPs propose to make the marketing of conservation varieties easier.

The access to, sale and transfer of conservation varieties in small quantities should be exempted from the rules, and the period of registration should be extended to 30 years, MEPs said.

Forest reproductive material

Forest reproductive material refers to seeds, plants and parts of plants of tree species that are used for the development of new forests and for other types of tree planting.

In the EU, 60% of forest stands are composed of even-aged trees, and over 80% have three species or less, which makes them susceptible to damage from droughts, fires, pests and diseases.

MEPs propose that member states may request technical support of the commission during the drawing-up of contingency plans for a sufficient supply of material to reforest areas affected by extreme weather.

Member states will have to co-operate between each other to ensure a supply of forest reproductive material for cross-border affected areas, according to the adopted text.

Forest reproductive material must be traceable from collection to marketing. Producers will be obliged to notify national authorities prior to harvesting to allow for the organisation of controls.

MEPs propose to allow professional operators having sufficient competence, infrastructure and resources – and not only national authorities – to issue official labels accompanying forest reproductive material.

The label should include a QR code with instructions on how to take care of, store and plant the forest reproductive material, according to the committee’s report.

The reports adopted by the committee will now be put to a plenary vote, possibly during the April 22-25 session. If adopted, they will constitute the parliament’s position at first reading.

EU organic farmers

The deputy director of IFOAM Organics Europe, the umbrella organisation for organic food and farming, Eric Gall said the review has the potential to re-introduce genetic diversity.

“Preserving agro-biodiversity and ensuring that plant genetic resources are not concentrated in the hands of only a few big actors are essential for the resilience and future of our food system.

“Organic breeders and farmers want to work with plant biodiversity, so seed variety registration rules need to be adapted to allow for this diversity,” Gall said.

Organic farmers need access to plant reproductive material, such as seeds and seedlings, that has been specifically bred to “perform well” under organics, according to the organisation.

Organic breeders and seed multipliers contribute to maintaining and fostering agro-biodiversity, making sure farmers have access to a wide range of plant reproductive material, IFOAM said.

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Vivienne Jupp has been appointed as the new chair designate of Coillte to succeed the outgoing chair, Bernie Gray. 

Jupp was a global senior executive in Accenture, a large global management consultancy firm for 12 years. 

Jupp said: “Coillte plays a very important role in delivering the multiple benefits of forestry, not just in the commercial sphere but also in relation to climate, biodiversity and recreation.

“I appreciate the very significant contribution that Bernie Gray has made to Coillte in her time as chairperson, and I envisage continuing her work driving Coillte to further success in the future.”

Coillte chair

The position of chair is for a period of five years, with possibility for an extension.

Prior to formal confirmation in the post, there is a requirement by which the Joint Committee for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has the power to require the chair to attend before the Select Committee to discuss his or her strategic priorities for the role.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Pippa Hackett paid tribute to the outgoing chair.

Minister Hackett added: “Since the foundation of the company in 1988, Coillte’s mandate has evolved significantly over the years, and it is now not only the nation’s largest producer of wood, but also the largest provider of outdoor recreation space in Ireland and undertakes nature rehabilitation projects at scale.”

Chief executive officer (CEO) of Coillte, Imelda Hurley said:

“Vivienne’s experience and support will be invaluable as we work to implement the objectives of our ambitious forestry strategic vision, which will play a key role in helping Ireland achieve its climate action targets”.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued a total of 163 planting licences since the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027 commenced.

Six afforestation licences were issued last week which allow for 44ha of new plantings, the Forestry Licensing Dashboard for the week ending on Friday, March 1, shows.

This leads to a total of 87 planting licences issued by the DAFM so far this year, allowing for 710ha of new plantings. An area of 153ha has been afforested to date in 2024.

While the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027 worth €1.3 billion was announced in November 2022, due to a delay in EU State Aid approval, it was only approved by Cabinet in September 2023.

Forestry licences

So far this year, the DAFM issued 213 private felling licences, 192 Coillte felling licences and 172 road licences, for which the number of applications received was 157, 0, and 121 respectively.

Of this total, the DAFM issued 22 licences for new forest roads, 25 private felling licences and 14 Coillte felling licences last week.

The Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) said that February 2024 was “another poor month” with less than half of the afforestation target met.

In order to achieve the government’s annual planting target of 8,000ha set under the Climate Action Plan, the DAFM would need to issues licences for 667ha per month.

The dashboard shows that licences for 326ha of plantings were issued last month. While this is far below the monthly output required, in February 2023 this figure stood at 39ha.

Schemes

Earlier this week, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue outlined the amounts and number of payees per county under forestry schemes in 2023.

These payments include grants and premiums under the afforestation schemes and grants under the support schemes.

It also includes payments made under the interim schemes for afforestation, forest roads and reconstitution of ash dieback introduced in 2023 prior to the new Forestry Programme.

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Hometree, a charity that establishes and conserves permanent native woodland while promoting land regeneration and biodiversity, has been supported in acquiring nearly 90ac of land along the Easkey River in south Sligo by The Canopy shopping centre.

The site primarily consists of peatland, blanket bog, pockets of ancient hazelwood, and species-rich grassland.

Key conservation objectives include peatland restoration and the natural expansion of the old hazelwoods, with a comprehensive plan in place to restore species diversity.

The Canopy bought the land outright for Hometree for an undisclosed sum. According to Hometree, it’s the first collaboration of its kind.

Charity

Hometree and The Canopy envision the site as a social utility for the broader community, including biodiversity groups, school groups, and farm groups.

The site will serve as a hub for environmental engagement and addressing the climate crisis – embodying a commitment to collective action and stewardship.

Since the centre’s €1,000,000 rebrand in 2023, The Canopy has prioritised sustainability in its planning and operations.

Integration of plants and trees has transformed the centre into a vibrant green hub, complemented by the installation of solar panels contributing to renewable energy initiatives.

Recognising the urgency to address Ireland’s declining biodiversity and climate change challenges, The Canopy has also supported Hometree’s mission to restore Ireland’s ancient oceanic woodlands.

The collaboration, facilitated by The Canopy, enables Hometree to implement various projects focused on land regeneration and biodiversity conservation through restoration and education.

Key conservation objectives include peatland restoration and the natural expansion of the old hazelwoods, with a comprehensive plan in place to restore species diversity.

Projects like this are crucial, given the drastic decline in native woodland in Ireland from 80% to 1-1.5%, said director of The Canopy, Neil Monahan.

The site will serve as a hub for environmental engagement and addressing the climate crisis – embodying a commitment to collective action and stewardship.

Sustainable agenda

Neil said: “This is such an exciting project with Hometree. We are focused on driving a sustainable agenda, both about the centre and for Sligo as a whole.” 

Ray Ó Foghlu, Hometree’s farm programmes coordinator, said that they hope the location will become a showcase site and that local landowners will see what is possible:.

He said: “We have plans for a farmer outreach programme here, providing information and financial support for woodland creation along the Easkey River.

“We’ve had great success historically working with landowners adjacent or approximate to our land. There’s already loads of pockets of old forest along the Easkey River, and potential to make a connected ecological woodland corridor from the sea at Easkey up into the Ox mountains.

“We have a tried and tested process from a European innovation project that we ran in Clare from 2021 to 2023. That involves giving farmers the information and support they need alongside financial incentives to integrate trees into the farms themselves.”

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) issued 81 afforestation licences so far this year, according to the latest forestry dashboard.

The department estimates that it will issue 1,000 afforestation licences in 2024.

To date this year, there has been 71 valid afforestation applications. 20 were issued for the final week in February.

So far this year 667ha have been planted, according to the dashboard.

There has been just 91 applications for the Native Tree Scheme (NTAS) since the programme commenced in October 2023.

This year, there has been 60 licences issued under the scheme.

There has been 392 applications made since the opening of the Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme (RADS), with 187 made so far this year.

The Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) stated that this is the first time the number of afforestation licences issued in a week “meets the minimum number needed to reach the annual planting target”.

SEEFA stated that it welcomes the pace, but that the licences backlog “continues to be an issue”.

“Felling which has consistently been the least poorly performing department is now struggling to match even half of last year’s pace,” SEEFA stated.

This week there were 16 Coillte felling licenses issued, bringing the total number this year to 178.

There were 21 private licenses issued, bringing the total to 188 so far in 2024.

SEEFA stated: “The improvement in one department cannot come at the detriment of another. SEEFA hopes to see consistency in all areas to restore land owners’ faith in the sector.”

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Pippa Hackett is currently establishing a Forestry Strategy Consultative Committee (FSCC).

The purpose of the FSCC is to act as a consultative group to make contributions to the development of the forest strategy in Ireland.

It will represent views and contributions from a broad selection of stakeholders, nominated by Minister Hackett.

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The Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture, Claire Kerrane has claimed that government inaction on low afforestation rates “risks sleepwalking the forestry sector into disaster”.

Deputy Kerrane recently raised concerns about planting with Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Pippa Hackett in the Dáil.

The TD sought an update on Minister Hackett’s approach to addressing low afforestation rates as the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027 has now been in place for several months.

“When I raised concerns with Minister Hackett, she stated that the new programme aims to encourage a substantial increase in afforestation levels, and that it has been ‘warmly welcomed’ by the forestry sector.

“This could not be further from the truth, and I noted this during our exchange in the Dáil,” Deputy Kerrane said.

Forestry

The Sinn Féin TD said it is clear from her engagement with farmers, forestry owners and representatives from organisations working in the forestry sector that there are serious concerns about afforestation under the new programme.

“I cannot understand how the minister is not hearing the same concerns when we are meeting with the same individuals and groups.

“Either she is burying her head in the sand, or refusing to take on board the issues that have been raised with her for months now,” Deputy Kerrane said.

“It has been raised time and time again with the minister that those involved in forestry are worried that afforestation rules under the new Forestry Programme will limit their ability to plant trees.

“Restrictions mean that huge areas of land are likely now ineligible for planting, and I have been contacted by many farmers and foresters who are interested in planting and cannot do so due to these rules, or due to the costs of having their land surveyed.

“And this is not about condoning the planting of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) or unsuitable peatlands, as the minister tried to suggest during our exchange. It is about land which could be used for afforestation being excluded through subjective rules and resulting in continually low afforestation rates under the new programme,” she added.

Planting

The TD said that rates of afforestation under the new programme “remain very low”.

“Just 130ha were planted in January 2024, and about the same will be planted in February according to nursery dispatch records.

“As it stands, rates of afforestation in 2024 are unlikely to surpass the 1,650ha planted in 2023. Considering our annual afforestation target is 8,000ha, this is really alarming,” Deputy Kerrane said.

“The minister and her government states that they want to see increased afforestation, and that they recognise the value of doing so for the environment and for local economies and communities.

“Yet, their actions to date and her responses during our exchange in the Dáil tell an entirely different story.

“The minister also stated that an afforestation working group has been established, which at least shows she is aware that there is an issue.

“However, without an urgent review of the current Forestry Programme and ongoing engagement with representatives from the sector, it is unlikely that there will be substantive improvement in this area,” she added.

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An area of 94ha has been approved for forestry by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) under the Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS).

The scheme allows farmers to plant up to 1ha of native woodland without a licence, or up to 2ha if they have a suitable watercourse to plant along.

Grant and annual premium payments over a 10-year period total €22,060/ha for small native forests and €22,840/ha for native forests for water protection.

Latest figures in the DAFM’s Forestry Licensing Dashboard show that 91 applications have been approved under the scheme which allow for plantings of 94ha.

Forestry licences

Only two afforestation licences were issued last week, which allow for 13ha of new plantings. In the first seven weeks of 2024 a total area of 75ha has been planted.

The total number of afforestation licences issued so far this year now stands at 61, allowing for 503ha of new forestry. The number of applications for licences received is 64.

The area approved for planting is significantly higher than last year. So far this year the DAFM has approved afforestation of 503ha, compared to 789ha in all of 2023.

A further 45 forestry licences were issued by the DAFM in the week ending on Friday, February 16, comprising 16 for Coillte felling, 7 for private felling and 22 for roads.

Together these licences approve the felling of 273ha and come in addition to the 306 felling licences already issued so far this year approving the felling of 3,622ha.

The road licences issued last week allow for the construction of 8km of forest roads. So far this year 109 road licences had been issued and 8km of roads have been constructed.

Four approvals have been issued under the Woodland Improvement Scheme launched late last year which offers grants up to €1,200/ha for thinning and tending.

A total of 40 approvals have been issued last week under the Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme 2023-2027, in addition to the 320 approvals to date this year.

SEEFA

The gradual improvement in afforestation and road licences issued since the end of 2023 will need to be a “constant trend” going forward in order to have a “viable industry”.

This is according to the Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA), which said it now “appears this growth could be over, even though it had just begun”.

Just 152ha out of the 667ha required to meet the government’s planting target of 8,000ha annually have been achieved in the first three weeks of February, SEEFA said.

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A county councillor has called on the government to set up a taskforce to carry out work to remove ash trees affected by ash dieback along roadsides.

Independent councillor on Galway County Council Geraldine Donohue said that ash dieback is “now a major risk to human life, the general public, as well as landowners, emergency personnel, and local crew operatives”.

She called for a taskforce to be formed that would be given the necessary plant machinery and equipment to remove the trees.

“Continued calls for government funding are being ignored, [and] the buck continues to be passed from one body to another, year-after-year.”

Donohue claimed that her calls for funding to deal with the risk caused by “dead and dying” ash trees along roads “are largely dismissed”.

“Support and financial assistance are needed for farmers and homeowners to do the right thing. These very people are already financially stretched and unable to take on the highly dangerous task of cutting down a rotten roadside trees, which require professional training and specialist machinery,” Donohue said.

“Irish landowners, through no fault of their own, are being left in a precarious position. The government appears to be steadfast in its mindset that the problem lies with the landowner,” she added.

“Without any assistance, farmers and homeowners…are left with the decision of either attempting the highly dangerous task of cutting down a rotten roadside tree with no formal training or proper equipment, paying for the trees to be dealt with by professionals, or more often than not, leaving nature to take it’s course and hope for the best.”

The county councillor claimed that “any other major incident such as this” would receive government funding.

“It is obvious that a falling ash tree is a clear and real danger. If people are injured or killed, the government will be forced to react. It’s time now to be proactive and tackle the problem,” Donohue said.

Ash dieback strategy

The government has also been recently called on to publish its ash dieback strategy “immediately”.

Minister of State with responsibility for land use Pippa Hackett previously stated that a comprehensive implementation plan for ash dieback would be brought before Cabinet for approval in December.

Sinn Féin spokesperson for agriculture Claire Kerrane said that this did not happen and no further updates have been provided since then.

“The minister has repeatedly provided assurances that a detailed action plan is being prepared to deal with the issue of ash dieback and that this would be presented to cabinet very soon,” the Roscommon–Galway TD said.

“Yet, the weeks and months continue to pass, the issue of ash dieback continues to worsen, and we still do not have sight of a strategy,” Kerrane added.

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Forest Industries Ireland (FFI), the national trade association within Ibec, has voiced concerns about the government’s draft Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan.

FFI claimed that the draft plan, currently out for public consultation until next week, contains “large-scale actions” that will impact the forest sector.

The national trade association said that this includes restriction on harvesting operations, the clearance of forests, and targeted removal of the obligation to replant forests after clear-felling.

FII

Mark McAuley, Director of Forest Industries Ireland, said that the forestry sector supports the protection and conservation of all species and is aware that forestry plays an important role in providing habitats.

“However, FII is concerned about some of the actions proposed under the Draft Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan.

“Proposals such as clearing forests or removing the obligation to replant would have a serious detrimental effect on the forest sector and on the goal of growing our national forest cover.

“The government is targeting 18% forest cover and this is a major part of our national climate change targets. We need to create more forests to sequester carbon and fight climate change.

“If we undermine the forest sector, there is a cost in terms of the climate, as well as jobs and economic activity,” he said.

McAuley added that there is little evidence that the existing forestry restrictions have done anything to help the hen harrier.

“We are working with inadequate data that is creating ineffective policies and measures.

“The threat response plan does not consider the extensive environmental benefits of forestry and FII would encourage a balanced approach that takes into account multiple environmental objectives rather than a narrow view of just one issue,” he said.

“There is little evidence for the contention that large scale felling of forests would have a beneficial effect on Hen Harrier numbers.

“Taking this approach would be excessive. The benefits are unclear and the economic and environmental costs would be enormous. A more measured, evidence-based, approach is required,” McAuley said.

Hen harrier

The Hen Harrier is a territorial ground-nesting bird of prey that has seen significant declines in recent years. It typically breeds in open upland bog and heather moorland.

The draft plan identifies actions to address and reverse the key threats and pressures on the bird, arising from the agricultural, forestry and wind energy development sectors.

The identified actions are particularly targeted at Hen Harrier Special Protection Areas (SPAs), comprising six breeding and two wintering Hen Harrier SPAs.

Submissions on the draft plan may be made by email or by post to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) until 5:00p.m on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 .

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An area of 65ha has been planted in the first six weeks of 2024, according to the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

In comparison, the Forestry Licensing Dashboard up until week two of February 2023 shows that a total area of 83ha was planted during the first six weeks last year.

Up until the week ending on Friday, February 9, the DAFM issued a total of 59 licences for 490ha, which equals the number of planting licence applications received.

Of this total 13 afforestation licences were issued last week, allowing for 101ha. During the corresponding period last year, no planting licences were issued.

Planting rates and licence output by the DAFM was significantly impacted last year by a delay in EU State Aid approval for Ireland’s Forestry Programme 2023-2027.

Afforestation target

The DAFM’s Forestry Licensing Plan 2024 shows that the number of afforestation licence applications fell significantly from 1,226 in 2019 to 614 in 2022.

The DAFM said it has capacity to issue sufficient licences in 2024 to plant 8,000ha, which is the government’s annual planting target set under the Climate Action Plan.

Around 1,000 applications would be required per year to achieve this target. However, the DAFM said the number of licences issued depends on the number of applications received.

The Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) recently said that the current rate of planting is “under half the amount required” to reach the annual target.

The afforestation scheme as designed is “unworkable”, SEEFA said adding that the scheme must be more “user-friendly” and “guaranteed timelines” must be introduced for decisions.

Schemes

In addition, the DAFM processed 119 planting applications representing 998ha already approved under the previous forestry programme that hadn’t commenced planting.

A total of 320 approvals have been issued to date under the Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme 2023-2027, representing 1,254ha, according to the dashboard.

Under the Native Tree Area scheme there have been 71 approvals processed to date, representing 81.98ha. Woodland Improvement Scheme applications are currently being received.

Forestry licences

The DAFM’s latest Forestry Licensing Dashboard shows that 21 road licences, 18 private felling and 20 Coillte felling licences were issued last week.

So far in 2024, 109 road licences were issued which allow for the construction of 36km of forest roads. This is in addition to the 8km of forest roads already constructed this year.

Private felling licences issued in the first six week of this year totalled 160 licences, while Coillte licences amounted to 146. Together, these allow for the felling of 3,622ha.

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Coillte, Ireland’s semi-state forestry company received permission to afforest just over 61ha in 2023, recent figures have shown.

Under Coillte’s Forest Estate Strategic Land Use Plan 2023-2050, it is an objective of Coillte to enable the creation of 100,000ha over the lifetime of this plan.

The 2023 afforestation figures were provided by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, upon being asked by Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice on how many hectares Coillte got permission to afforest in 2023, by county.

A breakdown by county of the number of hectares Coillte received permission to plant in 2023 is shown in the table below.

The minister confirmed that Coillte, along with other public landowners, “may now avail of both grants and premiums under the new Afforestation Scheme 2023 – 2027” which opened on September 6, 2023.

Minister McConalogue has said that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is ready to issue sufficient afforestation licences to meet the annual forestry planting target of 8,000ha.

In 2023, a total of 288 applications for 1,750 hectares were approved under the Interim Afforestation Scheme.

In January, Minister McConalogue announced that “1,599 hectares have been approved for afforestation since the new scheme opened in September“. 

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett, has launched the new Native Woodland Conservation (NWC) Scheme aimed at supporting the restoration and conservation of existing native woodlands.

The scheme has been developed and implemented in partnership with Woodlands of Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Heritage Council, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) and other native woodland stakeholders.

The NWC Scheme looks to provide support to woodland owners to tackle “under-management” of native woodland through appropriate restoration measures, which will be identified following an assessment of the woodland and its needs by an ecologist and a registered forester.

The grant rates under the new scheme announced by Minister Hackett today are €6,000/ha for private high forest and €3,000/ha for public forest, as well as an ecosystems services premium payment of €500/ha/year for seven years.

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Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett, has launched the new Native Woodland Conservation (NWC) Scheme aimed at supporting the restoration and conservation of existing native woodlands.

The scheme has been developed and implemented in partnership with Woodlands of Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Heritage Council, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) and other native woodland stakeholders.

The NWC Scheme looks to provide support to woodland owners to tackle “under-management” of native woodland through appropriate restoration measures, which will be identified following an assessment of the woodland and its needs by an ecologist and a registered forester.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said that forest owners who applied for the native woodland scheme under the previous Forestry Programme 2014-2020 and who have not yet received approval, along with those with existing approvals and who have not commenced work, will receive correspondence advising them of their options in the coming week.

The grant rates under the new scheme announced by Minister Hackett today are €6,000/ha for private high forest and €3,000/ha for public forest, as well as an ecosystems services premium payment of €500/ha/year for seven years.

Conservation projects for native woodland typically involve steps such as the removal of individual or groups of non-native trees; removal of invasive exotics; and protection against deer or livestock.

Commenting on the new scheme, Minister Hackett said: “Ireland’s native woodlands are a precious resource. Our existing native woodlands support a wide variety of ecosystem functions and services.

“They protect and enhance our biodiversity, soil and water quality, while mitigating the challenges that we face through climate change.

“The NWC Scheme supports ‘close to nature’ forest management that brings benefits for nature, water quality and climate.

“It creates opportunities for implementing traditional forms of woodland management that form part of our countryside heritage, as well as for the provision of local amenities,” Minister Hackett added.

“Through the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027, the Native Woodland Conservation Scheme will support forest owners to deliver these multiple benefits,” she said.

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Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture, Claire Kerrane has called on Minister of State Pippa Hackett to publish the government’s ash dieback strategy immediately.

The independent review of government supports for farmers impacted by ash dieback was published in October.

It stated that the tree disease “needs to be treated as a national emergency” which “requires a state-led national and rapid coordinated response”.

It called for the establishment of a task force, led by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), which should include a dedicated department team, landowners, and forest industry stakeholders to oversee and coordinate the “safe and comprehensive clearance” of diseased plantations and re-establishment of new ones.

Ash dieback strategy

Minister Hackett previously stated that a comprehensive implementation plan for ash dieback would be brought before Cabinet for approval in December.

Deputy Kerrane said that this did not happen and no further updates have been provided since then.

“I am again calling on Minister Hackett to publish the government’s strategy on ash dieback without delay.

“The minister has repeatedly provided assurances that a detailed action plan is being prepared to deal with the issue of ash dieback and that this would be presented to Cabinet very soon,” the Roscommon–Galway TD said.

“She received the independent review of the government’s response to ash dieback back in September, which stressed how urgent this situation is and suggested a range of actions to address the issue of ash dieback.

“Yet, the weeks and months continue to pass, the issue of ash dieback continues to worsen, and we still do not have sight of a strategy,” Kerrane added.

The Sinn Féin TD said that the issue has been “continuously highlighted” by farmers, forestry landowners and representative organisations.

“As I have said before, it is a health and safety risk and a cause of financial loss and frustration for affected farmers and forestry owners that is set to worsen if measures are not put in place immediately.

“There is no more time to lose and the Minister must publish a strategy to address the issue of ash dieback immediately,” Deputy Kerrane said.

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The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has said that his department is ready to issue sufficient afforestation licences to meet the annual forestry planting target of 8,000ha.

According to the forestry licencing dashboard for the week ending February 2, eight afforestation licenses were issued.

This brings the total number of afforestation licenses this year to 46, compared to a total of two for the same period last year.

The minister said that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has the capacity to issue 1,000 new afforestation licences in 2024, under the Forestry Licencing Plan to facilitate increased planting.

“In order to achieve this it will be necessary to engage with all farmers, highlighting the complementary nature of forestry to farming and building confidence in the options for forestry available to them,” the minister said.

The new afforestation scheme under the programme offers land owners a choice of 12 forest types, through premiums and grants.

The department approved 1,599ha of afforestation since the new scheme opened in September 2023, according to the minister.

Forestry

In January 2023, DAFM issued 45 thinning licences and 205 clearfell licences. This compares to 18 thinning licences and 183 clearfell licences in 2024. 

Under the Native tree Scheme (NTAS), 69.54ha have been planted so far in 2024.

Under the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme (RADS) 1,211ha have been planted so far this year.

Minister McConalogue said he is “keenly aware” of the impact of ash dieback.

He said an action plan is being prepared by the Minister of State Pippa Hackett for submission to Cabinet for approval.

“This will outline comprehensive actions by my department to deal with the issue of ash dieback.

“Detailed deliberations are taking place to ensure an efficient, appropriate and proportionate response and to ensure that biodiversity is maintained on these sites,” Minister McConalogue said.

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Scottish Forestry has today (Wednesday, February 7) announced new restrictions on moving spruce logs with bark to the “island of Ireland” from some of the west of Scotland’s Pest Free Area (PFA).

The Scottish government agency said it has been working closely with government departments in both the ROI and in NI “to bring in measures which will reduce the risks posed by the great spruce bark beetle, Dendroctonus micans (D. micans) “.

The agency confirmed today that a 35km buffer zone will be put in place around locations where the D. micans bark beetle has been found.

Under the new measures:

• Spruce timber moving under phytosanitary certificate will only be allowed to travel through the 35 km buffer zone between 1st October and 31st March, which is outside of the flying season for the D. micans bark beetle;
  
• During this period between October 1 and March 31, this timber should not be stored in the buffer zone but can be loaded at ports;
  
• Phytosanitary certificates confirming that conifer timber is free from D. micans will not be issued within 35km of a beetle finding.

Many regulated plant pests and diseases that have been found elsewhere have not been detected in Ireland.

Ireland’s Protected Zone status includes six bark beetle species of which D. micans is one.

Northern Ireland also shares the protected zone status with Ireland for the six bark beetle species. 

Minister Hackett believes the new measures to be introduced by Scottish Forestry are “significant”.

“My department has had detailed discussions on these new measures with its Scottish counterparts, with the overall aim of ensuring that the integrity of the Pest Free Area is maintained and that Irish forests are protected.  

Many regulated plant pests and diseases that have been found elsewhere have not been detected in Ireland.

Ireland’s Protected Zone status includes six bark beetle species, of which D. micans is one.

Northern Ireland also shares the protected zone status with Ireland for the six bark beetle species. 

Minister Hackett believes the new measures to be introduced by Scottish Forestry are “significant”.

“My department has had detailed discussions on these new measures with its Scottish counterparts, with the overall aim of ensuring that the integrity of the Pest Free Area is maintained and that Irish forests are protected,” she said.

Pests and diseases

According to Minister Hackett, DAFM operates a risk-based surveillance for early detection of pests and diseases.

She added: “My officials maintain very close contact with counterparts in Great Britain and in Northern Ireland on this issue.

“It is vitally important that all forest stakeholders remain vigilant at all times and report forest health concerns as a matter of urgency, and I will very shortly establish a Forest Health stakeholder grouping to facilitate regular exchanges on this issue.”

However the final decision to make this change will have to be agreed between “Scottish Forestry and the relevant authorities on the island of Ireland”.

Meanwhile James Nott, head of tree health at Scottish Forestry also said: “Both the west of Scotland and island of Ireland have pest free status for D. micans and a number of other bark beetles.  

“It is important that we are both able to maintain this status which has been in place for many years as it allows trade to continue”.

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A TD has claimed that an electricity power line maintenance team “got lost” while looking for a line fault in a recent storm, due to poorly maintained forestry.

Speaking in the Dáil, Independent Sligo-Leitrim TD Marian Harkin raised the issue with Minster for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan.

Harkin said that many people in her constituency were the worst affected by Storm Isha last month (the first of two storms in a five-day period), and were without power for several days.

“Like many parts of the country, there were severe power outages in Co. Leitrim following Storm Isha. While most parts of the country had power restored in a day or two, some parts of Co. Leitrim…did not see power restored for six to seven days because of the complete neglect of maintenance and adherence to proper planning in our forests.

“We have planting beside power lines and under power lines, with…trees toppling over and taking down the wires. There is complete chaos,” she added.

The TD claimed that some maintenance crews got lost in forestry, and once the lines were located, it was “almost impossible to gain access”.

“Forestry companies are planting and walking away without care and due diligence for their plantations and the situation will only get worse,” Harkin claimed.

“I think we need to ensure that trees are removed up to 30m from power lines and that all associated works are carefully completed in the immediate future.”

In response, Minister Ryan acknowledged that forestry companies have a real responsibility and a legal obligation, subject to the conditions of licensing, to protect the area alongside power lines so they are not at risk from trees falling.

He asked Harkin to identify specific instances of forestry companies failing to meet those obligations, if she was aware of any such cases, saying this “should not be tolerated and it needs to change”.

However, Minister Ryan also said that the type of forestry planted was also an issue.

“There is a real issue in south Co. Leitrim, north Co. Leitrim, and Co. Roscommon. The nature of the forestry system we were developing was too intense in some areas, where communities rightly felt crowded out.

“We were sometimes planting non-diverse, single-crop, clear-fell species when we needed to go towards a more nature-based system of continuous cover. We need to clear for power lines but we also need to switch the forestry model,” Minister Ryan said.

Commenting after her exchange with Minister Ryan, Harkin said: “If an analysis of the costs involved in bringing crews from other jurisdictions; the time taken to locate and repair faults; the disruption to families, to schools, health facilities and especially to homes with vulnerable occupants…[the costs] would be just phenomenal and ordinary taxpayers should not be footing the bill.”

She added: “We need immediate and practical action…to deal with this increasingly chaotic situation.”

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With less than a month to go, Coillte is gearing up for National Tree Week, as it today (Monday, February 5) launches a nature-inspired photography competition open to all primary school children right across the country.

Coillte has stated the competition is aimed at encouraging students to “engage with nature and understand the importance of trees in safeguarding our planet for tomorrow”.

To enter, teachers and pupils are being asked to take a picture of their favourite tree or a favourite outdoor nature space and upload it to the Coillte website.

Four winners will be selected, with each receiving a trip for them and their class to ‘Beyond the Trees Avondale’ at Coillte’s Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow.

National Tree Week, running from March 3-10, organised by the Tree Council of Ireland and proudly supported by Coillte, is Ireland’s largest annual tree celebration.

This year’s theme, ‘Planting Trees for a Greener Future’, highlights the unique role trees and forests play in helping to address climate change.

This year will see Coillte donate 150,000 tree saplings to local community groups for planting, to mark the annual celebration.

Speaking at the launch, Cormac Downey, president of the Tree Council of Ireland said: “National Tree Week is all about communities joining together and celebrating all the good things that trees and forests do for us.

“This year’s theme, ‘Planting Trees for a Greener Future’ is what National Tree Week is all about and we hope everyone will get involved in a local event this year.

“If you are thinking of getting involved, we would encourage you to do so with simple activities like hosting walks, discussions, or community planting,” he added.

Downey said that he hopes such activities “will encourage everyone to play their part in planting more trees for a greener future”.

Sakinah Brennan of Coillte said: “National Tree Week is an important celebration as it highlights the significance of trees in helping to tackle climate change, promoting biodiversity and producing sustainably grown Irish wood, which is central to Coillte’s strategic vision.

“This year we’re particularly excited to launch our primary schools’ competition which we hope will encourage students to explore the nature around them and to understand the importance of trees in safeguarding our future,” Brennan said.

In March, National Tree Week will see a packed schedule of activities, from group forest walks and tree-planting events to workshops and forestry talks.

A series of expert-led webinars including the annual Augustine Henry forestry lecture on urban forestry in Ireland will also be running across the week, with each session providing valuable insights and perspectives from experts on the critical role of trees in promoting a greener, more sustainable future.

Since its inception in 1985, National Tree Week has been responsible for planting almost one million trees in Ireland.

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Afforestation programme payments amounted to €61.4 million in 2022, a decrease of 1.4% when compared to 2021 according to the latest data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Forest roads payments declined from €4.2 million in 2011 to €2.8 million in 2022 while forest roads payments covered 70km of forest roads in 2022.

According to the CSO, Cork accounted for 14% of main afforestation programme payments in 2022.

Commenting on this latest data, Niamh Shanahan, statistician in the Environment and Climate Division of the CSO, said: “Main afforestation programme payments in 2022 were €61 million. This was a 43% decrease from the highest figure of €108 million in 2010.

“Co. Cork had the highest afforestation programme payments in every year. Cork accounted for 14% of the afforestation programme payments in 2022 followed by Kerry (8%), Clare (8%), and Galway (6%).

“Payments for forest roads were highest in the series in 2011 with €4.2 million for 116km and declined to €2.8 million for 70kn in 2022,” she added.

Kerry accounted for 15% of forest road payments in 2022, followed by Cork (11%) and Roscommon (10%).

Afforestation payments

Eligibility for grant aid for forest road construction changed in 2008 focusing on private forest owners rather than public bodies and partly explains the reduction in funding over the period, according to the CSO.

Forest road construction by public bodies continued over the same period without grant aid and the CSO has not included those figures.

Financial support is provided for both the establishment and maintenance of new forests and woodlands.

Set-up grants cover up to 100% of total costs. An annual premium per hectare is available with the rate depending on the species of trees planted.

Grants are payable in two instalments. Application for payment of the first instalment grant and first premium may be made following planting.

The second instalment can be claimed four years after planting has been completed.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) computerised mapping and payment system (iFORIS) is used to capture a digital representation of the payment area based on the applicant’s claim map.

Where an afforestation project involves an area of 50ha or greater, the application for approval must be accompanied by an Environmental Impact Statement.

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A total of 38 afforestation licences were issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in the first four weeks of 2024.

This is compared to a total of two licenses issued for the same time last year.

The latest figures show that these 38 afforestation licences allow for 320ha of plantings.

The fourth week in January also saw 107 private felling licenses issued and 94 Coillte licenses.

There were also 67 road licenses issued in the same period.

Of the felling licenses issued, four were for thinning and 71 for felling.

Afforestation

The Climate Action Plan sets out an annual afforestation target of 8,000ha.

The Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) has said that the end of January continues to point to a “crisis” in the take-up of the new afforestation scheme. 

SEEFA stated: “If this trend continues, we can expect another dismal year for new planting, similar to 2022 and 2023.

“The application process needs to be made much more welcoming to landowners, and firm deadlines need to be implemented as a matter of urgency.”

A total of 279 licenses were allocated so far this year under the Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme 2023–2027.

The scheme involves the clearance of ash trees and associated operations in order to present the site for reconstitution.

A total of 57 licenses were also allocated under the Native Tree Scheme (NTAS), which supports the creation of small native forests on farmed land.

It supports the establishment of new native forests on farmed land and the establishment of new native forests alongside streams, rivers and lakes protecting and enhancing water quality and aquatic habitats.

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Forest Industries Ireland (FII) has said that timber, predominately from Sitka spruce, worth over €2 billion will be harvested over the next 12 years.

The Ibec forestry and timber trade association has carried out an analysis of the value of timber from private forests across Ireland in that time period.

The Roundwood Production Forecast estimates that over 40 million cubic metres of sawlog will be brought to market by private growers from now until 2035.

At current prices and excluding inflation this volume of timber is worth in excess of €2 billion.

FII said that conifers produce the valuable softwood timber products that are needed for construction and other sectors such as pallets, fencing, packaging, and bioenergy.

The latest data from the latest National Forest Inventory shows that Ireland’s forests will produce enough timber for 1.4 million homes by 2040.

Sitka spruce

Commenting on the analysis, Mark McAuley, director of Forest Industries Ireland, said: “The Irish forestry model is based on the production of softwood from Sitka spruce and the true economic value of this is becoming increasingly apparent.

“Farmers and others who invested in planting Sitka spruce over the last 30 years have built up a huge financial asset that will yield over €2 billion in cash flows to growers over the next twelve years.

“Ireland has the perfect conditions to grow conifers for the production of softwood – Sitka grows here at three times the speed of Scandinavia,” he said.

McAuley advised farmers to maximise the financial return from land holdings by “planting conifers and generating a valuable cash crop”.

“The market has an almost insatiable demand for timber to build homes and for other essential uses such as pallets, fencing and packaging.

“We will see timber prices increasing steadily over the next ten years,” he said.

The FII director said that Ireland should be aiming to build more homes from native-grown timber frame, along with further developing the export market.

“We are generating enough high-quality timber to build hundreds of thousands of green, home-grown homes.

“The production of softwood is one of the only financially attractive options for Irish agriculture to diversify land use and meet climate change targets, while at the same time delivering strong financial returns to farmers.

“Between the government grants that are available and a strong future market for timber, the planting of a cash crop of conifers is a good financial, and environmental option for farmers and investors,” McAuley said.

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The total area of Sitka spruce that was planted in 2023 was the lowest in a gradual year-on-year decline that began seven years ago, according to figures provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The coniferous species accounted for just 38% of the total area of forestry planted in Ireland last year.

Co. Waterford Independent TD Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue to provide the figures of the net area of Sitka spruce afforestation in Ireland each year from 2010 to 2023.

Minister McConalogue said: “My department is addressing the previous decrease in overall afforestation levels, (including that of Sitka spruce).

“My department has also addressed the licensing issues which were previously impacting on recent planting levels.

“We now have a diverse forestry programme in place which offers farmers and other landowners an attractive and viable land use option, with 15 year premiums for non-farmers and 20 year premiums for farmers,” Minister McConalogue added.

With Sitka spruce accounting for a total of 58% of the total area planted since 2010, 2023 was a year that accounted for a reduced level of the planting of the coniferous species.

The total area of forestry planted in Ireland has been in a gradual decline since 2016, when 6,500ha was planted, to reduce to an area in 2023 of just 1,651ha.

Sitka spruce plots

Forestry sales have reached an “all time high”, with year on year increases between 15-25%, according to Tradeforus Forestry Ltd.

Typical prices for bare land are between €7,000 and €8,500/ac depending on location, access, land quality and plot size, according to the business.

Premium plots of Sitka Spruce, depending on age are being sold for up to €10,000/ac.

Smaller plots or poorer site values are for as low as €3,500 to €5,000/ac.

Office and auction manager Lorraine Woulfe said that “there is real interest in forestry investment at present”.

She said that investments are coming from institutional forestry investment funds, semi state companies and farmers.

Almost 23,000 landowners’ own forestry in Ireland now, according to Woulfe, and while buyers are mainly interested in commercial conifer plantations, more recently there has been an upsurge of people interested in buying broadleaf plantations.

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