Minister opens third tranche of grants for sustainable forest harvesting machinery
Grant applications for sustainable forest harvesting and machinery are now open.
The third tranche of grant applications for sustainable forest harvesting and machinery are now open.
The third tranche of the ‘Innovative Forest Technology Scheme: Module 3 – Sustainable Forest Harvesting Machinery Grant’ is now open to a wider range of applicants, including forestry producer groups and licensed hauliers, as well as forestry contractors.
Speaking on the opening, the new minister of state with responsibility for forestry, Niall Collins, said: “Previous offerings of this scheme have seen several new specialised, low-impact machines introduced to the national fleet, and these machines are now working on windblow, ash dieback and broadleaf harvesting sites across the country.
"We need more of these, and I hope the sector can continue to invest in a sustainable and productive future in this way.”
The scheme provides support to eligible forestry contractors and timber hauliers for the purchase of new forest machinery and timber transport equipment that will aid the performance of forest operations.
This includes the availability of funding under the scheme towards the purchase of on-board automatic load tensioning systems for timber trucks. The adoption of this technology will help make timber transport safer and more fuel-efficient.
It will build on previous versions of the scheme and continue to assist with the purchasing of modern, efficient, and increasingly specialised machinery and equipment for forest operations.
Concluding, minister Collins said: “The objective of this scheme is to encourage the availability of sustainable timber harvesting, extraction and transport equipment in the marketplace to protect water quality, road safety and fuel efficiency, and to deliver on environmental and operator safety objectives for forest operations.”
