The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has allocated a substantial €58.2 million this year towards delivering forestry supports. This figure was disclosed by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, in response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD Michael Moynihan. Minister McConalogue highlighted that the government has committed an impressive €1.3 billion in funding for the Forestry Programme 2023-2027, with the aim of supporting the national goal of 8,000 hectares of afforestation annually. He emphasized that this funding also caters for various schemes aimed at fostering the maintenance and sustainable management of forests.
Forestry Minister McConalogue further detailed that a total of €110 million and €91 million has been earmarked within Budgets 2024 and 2025, respectively. As of October 10 this year, there has been 1,302 hectares of new forests planted, encompassing both tree planting activities and initial payments issued. The breakdown of the 2024 expenditure to date, pertaining to forestry scheme supports, is as follows:
Forestry supportSpending
Afforestation, including Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS)€52,413,853
Forest Roads€2,871,936
Reconstitution Schemes€2,809,105
Woodland Improvement Scheme€133,669
Total year-to-date (October 10) spend€58,228,562
Source: DAFM
The data indicates that a significant portion of over €52.4 million has been channeled by the department towards afforestation, including the Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS). Additionally, €2.87 million in funding has been allocated to forestry roads. Furthermore, just over €2.8 million has been expended thus far this year on reconstitution schemes, encompassing initiatives such as the Ash Dieback Reconstitution Scheme and the newly introduced Ash Dieback Climate Action Performance Payment, which received Cabinet approval on April 30 this year.
