Forestry owners urged to apply online to speed up 2014 premiums
Applicants will be able to apply for their 2014 premium from Nov 19, if they have registered for the department’s online services.
The development of the online premium application service, initiated in 2012, also allows clients to view some of their payment history and maps of their forest plantations.
Mr Hayes said the online process will be available to clients to claim the 2014 annual forestry premiums.
By applying online, forest owners will speed up the premium payment process, with payments made within weeks of the submission of the application.
This is instead of having to wait for the bulk run in April and will provide forestry owners with an earlier cashflow.
There are currently just over 8,700 forest owners registered for the department’s online services. They will be able to submit future applications online, which leads to more prompt payments and reduced paperwork for the clients.
After the introduction of the facility in late 2012, a total of 4,123 premiums valued at €16.1m were paid in Jan 2013, with a further 1,745 premiums valued at €7.6 m were paid before the April bulk run.
In its first year of use, 36% of all 2013 premium applications received were submitted through the online service.
Mr Hayes said the department is committed to its current IT strategy which called for the provision of online access to IFORIS for approved clients via the internet.
The introduction of the forestry premium online application facility is one of the successful eGovernment initiatives undertaken by his department, demonstrating its commitment to the delivery of improved online services.
Forest owners who are not registered and who would like to avail of this online service can register online at www.agfood.ie
The IFORIS computer system was developed by the forest service of the department for the processing of forestry pre-approval, grant and premium applications. It also includes mapping of grant-aided forestry already planted.
The system was subsequently expanded to IFORIS Internet (iNet) to provide facilities to forestry companies to submit and manage their clients’ forestry scheme applications online.
