Kilkenny farmers to benefit from €79.5 million support package for Ash Dieback Disease

A plan to ‘deal definitively with the ash dieback issue’ has been announced. The €79.5 million financial support package for affected growers was approved by cabinet this week.

There are a number of elements to the financial support for farmers whose plantations are affected by ash dieback:

• 100% increase in the site clearance grant rate, from €1,000 to €2,000, under the new Forestry Programme compared to the previous reconstitution scheme;
• Enhanced replanting grant rates under the new Forestry Programme, in accordance with the chosen forest type. For example, Forest Type FT12 (conifer) will attract €3,858 per hectare, while planting of Forest Type 1 (native trees) will attract €6,744 per hectare, and agroforestry €8,555 per hectare. These new grant rates represent an approximately 20% increase on those available under the previous programme;
• 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 FT1 (native forest), will be entitled to receive a lump sum payment of approximately €3,336 per hectare.

The new financial component of the Action Plan - a Climate Action Performance Payment (CAPP) is €5,000 per hectare for participants in reconstitution schemes. This payment will be made available to all ash forest owners who have, or will, fully engage with the Department’s ash dieback schemes, to clear sites and carry out replanting.

The overall package being made available to ash plantation owners will amount to in excess of €230 million.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D, 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.”

Minister of State with special responsibility for research and development, farm safety and new market development, Martin Heydon T.D, also welcomed the Cabinet approval. “It is in all our interests that farmers are supported to deal with ash dieback through the clearance of affected plantations, not least from the viewpoint of farm safety,” he said.

“The Action Plan being announced today provides the necessary tools to achieve that objective, and I urge farmers to engage with my Department’s Reconstitution Scheme at the earliest opportunity.”

Mixed reaction
However, there has been a mixed reaction to the plan from farmers.
The IFA Farm Forestry Committee held a meeting to get the views of farmers from around the country to the proposed new Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme.

“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,” IFA Farm Forestry chair Jason Fleming said.

He said that many farmers were relying on the income from these forests for their pensions and this payment is only a drop in the ocean, while for others the payment will provide some financial relief.

“The Ash Dieback Taskforce that is to be established must ensure there is flexibility within the scheme, as well as the approach taken by Government. All options need to be considered, including review of clearance costs, the removal of replanting obligation, natural regeneration etc.” said Mr Fleming.