A planning exemption to allow farmers replace up to 10ha of diseased ash trees with a conifer species is a “positive” step, according to the Irish Farmers Association (IFA).

IFA farm forestry chair Jason Fleming said that the legislative change which enables a farmer or landowner to replace up to 10ha of any diseased broadleaf high forest will “simplify the application process”.

He said that up to now, the requirement to apply for planning permission under the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme - Ash Dieback (RUS) was delaying the application process and adding “unnecessary bureaucracy” to managing the ash dieback disease.

Farmer benefit

Farmers whose replanting applications were being processed under the RUS scheme, and have yet to be decided upon, will benefit from the legislative change, Fleming suggested.

All applications will still be required to be screened by the Department of Agriculture for environmental impact assessment (EIA) and appropriate assessment (AA).

“I hope this legislative change, as well as the Minister’s commitment to review the RUS scheme in early 2023, signal a new willingness to better support farmers affected by this devastating disease,” Fleming said.

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A legislative change will allow farmers to replace up to 10ha of diseased ash with conifer trees without planning permission.