Aid increase for small scale REPS forestry
Or landowners who plant at least eight hectares will receive aid of €774 per hectare, regardless of farm size.
Improved incentives to plant bring the maximum premia payments to €6,000 per year for a farmer planting eight hectares — without affecting his or her Single Payment.
Forestry Minister Mary Wallace said a FEPS pilot programme in 2007 revealed scope for additional planting on larger REPS farms, but difficulties for REPS farmers with smaller holdings, particularly in counties such as Mayo — leading to her decision to accept plantations as small as five hectares.
She urged farmers to look afresh at opportunities for planting part of their land.
“Demand for timber has never been higher and thousands of farmers are now, literally, reaping the rewards of planting,” she said.
Forestry companies have welcomed her announcement of a FEPS premium of €150 per hectare for plantations of five to eight hectares, in addition to the forestry premium. They said participants can get up to €774 per hectare tax-free, plus the Single Farm Payment.
