Almost E5 4m Paid Out Under Woodland Improvement Scheme
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has paid out nearly €5.4 million under the Woodland Improvement Scheme since 2015.
The scheme provides a range of supports to forest owners to sustainably manage the potential of their forests, with the aim of fulfilling current and future relevant demands for wood and non-wood products.
Under the current Woodland Improvement Scheme, grants of up to €1,200/ha are available for five different measures:
Thinning and tending;
Agroforestry maintenance;
Continuous cover forestry (CCF);
Coppice and coppice with standards; and
Seed stand management.
Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, Michael Healy-Rae added that the scheme aims to "support the growing of high quality and high-value round wood timber for the timber industry while also delivering on the provision of ecosystem services such as biodiversity, soil, water protection".
The minister recently confirmed to Sinn Féin TD Conor D. McGuinness that a total of €5,394,336 was paid under the Woodland Improvement Scheme in the period from 2015 to June 30, 2025.
According to the data, the highest annual amount paid out under the scheme was in 2020 when €745,457 was issued.
Last year, some €273,000 was issued to participating forest owners, which is down from the €378,220 paid out in 2023.
Up to June 30 this year, a total of €132,769 had been issued to forest owners under the scheme.
The following table provides a county-by-county breakdown of how much has been paid out under the Woodland Improvement Scheme from 2015 to June 30, 2025:
County WIS total payments Carlow €81,669 Cavan €186,920 Clare €151,985 Cork €469,884 Donegal €75,094 Dublin €19,773 Galway €110,034 Kerry €164,057 Kildare €216,526 Kilkenny €355,467 Laois €231,481 Leitrim €68,535 Limerick €187,953 Longford €95,525 Louth €35,835 Mayo €70,703 Meath €483,524 Monaghan €61,862 Offaly €450,520 Roscommon €51,557 Sligo €56,091 Tipperary €677,019 Waterford €131,370 Westmeath €481,797 Wexford €214,801 Wicklow €264,345 Total €5,394,336 Source: DAFM
The data shows that Tipperary was the county with the highest total payment under the scheme since 2015, with €677,000.
The Premier County is followed by counties Meath (€483,000), Westmeath (€481,000), Cork (€469,000) and Offaly (€450,000).
The lowest payments were made to Dublin (€19,773), Louth (€35,000), and Roscommon (€51,000).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Agriland
2 hours ago
- Agriland
Teagasc Staff Pay Costs Rose by 9 to E109m in 2024 Report
Newly published accounts show that pay costs at Teagasc increased by 9% last year to €109 million. The Teagasc 2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements shows that the average number of staff employed by the authority during the year was 1,489, up 50 (3%) on 2023. The annual salary and benefits for Teagasc director, Prof. Frank O'Mara, stood at €192,000 last year. The report outlined that 124 members of staff in Teagasc earned over €100,000 last year, which included salaries, overtime, allowances, and other benefits. The total fees paid to the Teagasc Authority and committee stood at €90,346 last year, along with €30,982 in expenses. In 2024, 140 staff received overtime payments (2023: 148), with the highest aggregate amount paid to an individual €29,158 (2023: €28,802). The report outlined that total Teagasc income in 2024 was €242 million, which was €10 million (4%) greater than the previous year. Meanwhile, total expenditure was €246 million, €9 million (4%) greater than in 2023. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) allocated €170.45 million in grant aid to Teagasc in 2024, an increase of €8.254 million on the previous year. The accounts show non-pay expenditure reduced by 5.5% to €74 million, with general operating expenses of €52 million, down 5% on 2023. Capital expenditure increased by 53% in 2024 to €14.4 million, while superannuation (pension programme) costs reduced by 2% to €46 million. The average number of monthly retirement benefits paid during the year was 1,759 (2023: 1,768). Livestock trading income was just over €5 million in 2024, up from €3.9 million in 2023. €755,000 was spent on buying livestock in 2024, compared to €353,000 in the previous year. The report noted that total procurement-related expenditure was €72.9 million in 2024. Teagasc found that of 301 purchase orders worth over €25,000, with total value of €26.7 million, the value of non-compliant purchase orders was €191,930 (2023: €186,064). "Notwithstanding that these procurements were non-compliant, Teagasc is satisfied that good value for money was achieved," the report stated. Despite progression of female staff and the appointment of women to management positions, Teagasc's gender pay gap was 14% as at June 30, 2024. A new diversity and inclusion strategy to be launched in 2025 will include "a sharp focus on reducing the pay gap". The report shows that Teagasc advisory service had contracts with 43,735 farmer clients in 2024. In total, there were 142,834 one-to-one advisory contacts in 2024, including 21,000 farm visits, over 63,000 phone consultations and 59,000 office consultations. Teagasc supported farmers with 42,210 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) applications, and almost 15,773 farmers in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES). The organisation hosted 288 farm walks, 251 workshops, 387 meetings and seminars, along with 2,954 discussion group meetings. The Teagasc website had over 4.4 million visits in 2024. There were 3,600 learners across full-time, part-time and distance education courses provided by Teagasc, including a number of new apprenticeship programmes. Teagasc researchers published some 654 peer-reviewed articles during 2024. Last year, Teagasc was awarded external research funding valued at €53 million, up from €37 million in 2023, which will be drawn down over the next three to six years. Almost 12.5% of this was for 19 projects funded by the European Commission, which had a total value of €283 million with the contribution to Teagasc being €6.6 million.
Agriland
6 hours ago
- Agriland
DAFM in the market for a new reverse drive tractor
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is currently inviting tenders for the supply and delivery of a new tractor. According to the tender documents, the department is seeking a four-wheel drive (4WD) reverse drive agricultural tractor with a horsepower requirment of between 130-160hp. The new tractor must be delivered to Kildalton Agricultural College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny. The document also notes that tenders must allow for trade in of a 2000 New Holland TS115 tractor (115hp). The estimated value of the tender, which closes for submissions at 2:00p.m on July 18, is €120,000 excluding VAT. DAFM is responsible for the Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) trials of new varieties of agricultural crop species. Newly bred crop varieties are submitted to the department for evaluation by European and world plant breeders via their Irish agents. Varieties are independently assessed for yield, quality and agronomic traits. The most suitable varieties from National List trials are assessed for a further one or two sowings to determine their suitability for inclusion on the recommended list. The department's crop policy, evaluation and certification division operates farms at various locations around the country and also has trials on farmer sites. At the DAFM centres, commercial crops are grown in conjunction with the trials. The tender documents outline that these tasks require tractors and other machinery in order to prepare the soil for sowing, crop husbandry including spraying plant protection products and spreading fertiliser and other duties such as moving grain trailers. "The new tractor is sought to replace a 2000 registration New Holland TS115 tractor (115HP), to afford the division a tractor with additional specification, efficiency and health and safety features," the document states.
Agriland
7 hours ago
- Agriland
Teagasc to host multiple exhibits at Tullamore Show
The Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show takes place on Sunday, August 10 at Butterfield Estate, Blueball, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. Teagasc will be present in various areas across the event, including information on Teagasc Advisory. The focus of the Advisory stand at this year's Tullamore Show is 'From Cow to Table, Nature's Way'. This year's theme of the Teagasc Advisory stand at Tullamore Show is to showcase the positive contribution the cow can make to feeding the nation in a sustainable way. There will be a range of products, both obvious and novel on display that are sustainably derived from the grass-fed cow, her milk, her meat, and by-products. The advisory staff will be on hand at the stand located at L102 to answer any queries on the advice, training, and broad range of supports Teagasc provides. In Ireland, organic farming is enjoying increasing interest from farmers in recent years with 5,700 farmers now farming approximately 5.6% of the utilisable agricultural area, according to Teagasc. Organic farming can suit all systems, regardless of soil type or location and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has provided a financial incentive for organic farmers via the Organic Farming Scheme. This is a five-year stand-alone scheme and supports farmers with per hectare payments as well as a participation payment. To discuss if organic farming is an option for your farm, what the key factors to consider are, and what steps are involved when converting to organics, advisers from the Teagasc Organic Team will be in the NOTS (National Organic Training Skillnet) Organic Village at Tullamore Show. The dedicated Forest and Energy Section has been a popular attraction at Tullamore Show since 2005 and has been coordinated by the Teagasc Forestry Development Department. Teagasc forestry advisers will be on hand to discuss all aspects of forestry, especially in relation to forest creation and management of existing forests. Teagasc research staff will also be there to discuss the applied projects that they are currently undertaking. On the day, there will be opportunities to engage with Teagasc at its dedicated stand and explore the many interactive props and information boards that will be on display. The forest industry will be represented with companies from the afforestation, management, harvesting, and products sectors. The Renewable Energy sector will also be well represented by companies from the biomass, renewable heating and solar energy sectors. The Sustainable Livestock Village will see key agencies such as DAFM, Teagasc, Bord Bia, Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), Animal Health Ireland (AHI), Meat industry Ireland (MII), and Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) working together to deliver clear, practical advice to farmers in relation to sustainability practices that can be adopted on their farm. Teagasc is once again partner in the Sustainable Livestock Village at Tullamore Show. The Teagasc advisory and specialist team will showcase technologies that farmers can adopt to improve the environmental sustainability of their farms and improve their beef and lamb production. This includes a demonstration of AgNav, the online platform that provides farmers with support to identify mitigation strategies for their farm to deliver on climate action. This year, the Teagasc focus is on three areas: Improving soil fertility using lime to correct soil pH; Improving silage quality to drive animal performance; Reducing the age of finish for beef cattle. Videos of some of the award-winning farmers in the Teagasc/FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards will also be displayed and discussed. Staff from both Teagasc and the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) will be available to discuss measures farmers can adopt to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) and improve water quality respectively. The Teagasc Biodiversity Display will also feature at the Sustainable Livestock Village and comprises Ireland's native flora and fauna which are found on farmland. Teagasc said that if we want to retain native wildlife in the Irish countryside, we need to allow space for nature on farms and maintain habitats to allow farming and nature thrive side-by-side. The display also demonstrates Best Practice Management of the two hedge types in Ireland - treeline hedges and topped hedges – both of which are important for biodiversity and carbon. The display this year will also include an archaeological exhibit from the Farming Rathcroghan Project (former EIP, now funded by Just Transition) to include Built Heritage with Natural Heritage on farms. The following is the schedule of talks taking place in the Sustainable Village Speakers Corner: 11:00a.m: Reducing your carbon footprint; 12:00p.m: Does younger finishing make sense?; 1:00p.m: Protecting water quality on your farm; 2:00p.m: Developing a sustainability plan for your farm; 3:00p.m: Nurturing nature.
