There has been 80ha approved to 77 applicants under a new native tree scheme which offers farmers forestry grants of over €20,000, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has confirmed.

Responding to a parliamentary question, Minister McConalogue said the Native Tree Area Scheme, which opened in October 2023, (NTAS) has had 201 applications to date.

Under Ireland’s 2023-2027 Forestry Programme, the scheme allows farmers to plant up to a hectare of native woodland without the need for a licence.

They can alternatively plant up to 2ha if they have a suitable watercourse along which to plant a small-scale native woodland.

However, the extent of the area that can be created under this scheme is limited to 2ha per farm holding for the duration of the scheme, which is 10 years.

The two options available to applicants are NTAS one, the creation of small native forests and NTAS 2, creation of native forests for water protection.

Both farmers and non-farmers may avail of support under the scheme.

Support will take the form of an establishment grant and annual premium payments over a 10-year period, totalling €22,060 per hectare for NTAS 1 and €22,840 per hectare for NTAS 2

Minister McConalogue said: “This exemption is an enabling proposal that allows the creation of forests through initiatives, other than the afforestation scheme, thereby contributing to Ireland’s targets in relation to a wide range of environmental priorities particularly climate change, biodiversity and water quality.”

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New native tree scheme opens with grants of over €20,000