A new €5,000 scheme aimed at assisting landowners impacted by ash dieback has recently opened for applications, but the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has raised concerns about the scheme, calling for a redesign. Minister of State for land use and biodiversity, Pippa Hackett, announced the launch of the Climate Action Performance Payment (CAPP) on Tuesday, which had been given the green light in May. However, the IFA has expressed dissatisfaction with the current structure of the payment.
Padraic Stapleton, the IFA’s national farm forestry chairperson, highlighted that the CAPP scheme excludes farmers with ash trees in their plantations that were not part of their original planting plan. This exclusion has been deemed as unfair and unacceptable by the IFA. Stapleton emphasized that the compensation package falls short of what is necessary and fails to cover the costs associated with the safe removal of diseased trees, which could significantly impact farmers’ participation in the scheme.
Under the current scheme, farmers are given 12 months to clear their sites from the date of approval, with a total period of 18 months allowed for replanting, or two years in the case of clear-felling a commercial plantation. The IFA is advocating for the two-year replanting window to be extended to all applicants, not just those who have clear-felled commercial plantations. Stapleton criticized the scheme’s design, stating that it does not effectively encourage reforestation as intended.
The IFA expressed disappointment that the findings from an independent review on support for farmers affected by ash dieback, conducted by the department and published in autumn 2023, were not taken into account in the scheme’s development. The IFA plans to address these concerns with the minister in an upcoming meeting on forestry matters, stressing the need for changes to adequately address farmers’ issues surrounding ash dieback.
In order to qualify for the payment, ash plantation owners must be part of one of four existing reconstitution schemes: Reconstitution Scheme Ash Dieback 2013; Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (Ash Dieback) 2020; Interim Reconstitution Scheme for Ash Dieback 2023; Reconstitution for Ash Dieback Scheme 2023-2027. The IFA has also raised concerns about these schemes, with sources indicating that some concessions were made by department officials at the first meeting of the Ash Dieback Taskforce in May, including allowing the entire ash plot to qualify for payment. However, there are lingering concerns within the farm organization regarding other aspects of the schemes and the department’s concessions.
The second meeting of the ash dieback taskforce is scheduled to take place early next month, where further discussions on the issues raised by the IFA and other stakeholders are expected to continue.
