Parliamentary questions

234. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has assessed the likely uptake of the newly introduced Alluvial Woodland planting option, particularly in relation to biodiversity and floodplain restoration. [22695/26]

235. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has assessed the extent to which administrative delays continue to affect forestry licensing and scheme approvals. [22696/26]

236. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the proposed mapping layer identifying FT2 eligible lands will be made available to the sector and how delays in its publication may impact scheme uptake. [22697/26]

237. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has estimated the amount of time that will be saved by introducing pre-application discussions for the native woodland conservation scheme; and whether this will reduce application rejection rates. [22698/26]

238. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of potential applicants excluded from forestry schemes under the previous farmer definition; and whether the change to the definition was made in response to low participation rates. [22699/26]

239. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the removal of the four-year BISS-BPS requirement will significantly increase the number of eligible forestry applicants. [22700/26]

240. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has analysed whether forestry supports remain competitive with other agricultural schemes in terms of farmer income. [22701/26]

241. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the mid-term review of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 concluded that the proposed changes would have no likely environmental impacts; and whether an independent environmental assessment was conducted. [22702/26]

242. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether increased grant rates for forest roads will be sufficient to address current delays in timber mobilisation from plantations. [22704/26]

243. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine which proposals from the mid-term review of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 consultation could not be implemented due to State aid constraints; and when these proposals will be reconsidered. [22705/26]

244. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has begun work on the next forestry programme after 2027; and the way in which the lessons from the mid-term review will inform its design. [22706/26]

245. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the assessment that has been carried out by his Department regarding the long-term resilience of Ireland's current forestry model which is heavily reliant on monoculture plantations, in the context of increasing storm frequency and climate change. [22707/26]

246. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the mid-term review of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 considered the vulnerability of monoculture plantations to windthrow, given the shallow rooting structures typical of certain conifer species. [22708/26]

247. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures being introduced under the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 to diversify species composition in new afforestation projects to improve climate resilience. [22709/26]

248. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has assessed the risk of increased wildfire incidence in Irish forests due to climate change; and whether the current programme design sufficiently addresses this risk [22710/26]

249. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the climate resilient reforestation scheme includes provisions to encourage mixed species planting rather than replanting with the same species following storm damage or disease outbreaks. [22717/26]

250. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proportion of afforestation under the current forestry programme that is expected to consist of mixed woodland or native species, as opposed to single-species plantations. [22718/26]

251. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the lessons that were drawn from recent storms in relation to forestry windthrow; and whether his Department has revised planting guidance or site selection criteria accordingly. [22719/26]

252. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the co-ordination that exists between his Department and electricity infrastructure operators to mitigate the risk of fallen trees damaging power lines during storms. [22720/26]

253. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the assessment that has been undertaken regarding the impact of proposed 20-metre vegetation clearance corridors around electricity infrastructure on land available for afforestation. [22721/26]

254. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the requirement for wider electricity line corridors will reduce the overall area eligible for afforestation under the Forestry Programme 2023-2027. [22722/26]

255. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has engaged with ESB Networks and other relevant agencies regarding how forestry policy will adapt to new infrastructure protection requirements. [22723/26]

256. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether compensation or alternative supports will be provided to landowners whose lands become ineligible for forestry due to electricity corridor restrictions [22724/26]

257. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has revised its projections for achieving national afforestation targets in light of increasing land-use constraints such as biodiversity protections, infrastructure corridors and peatland restrictions. [22725/26]

258. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has conducted modelling to determine the way storm damage, wildfire risk and infrastructure safety measures may impact the long-term viability of the national forestry strategy. [22726/26]