Annual premiums of €24.2 million paid to more than 7,000 forest owners
- Published on: 13 January 2025
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for forestry, Senator Pippa Hackett, has welcomed the issuing of annual tax-free forestry premium payments for 2025. The payments issued to forest owners who applied for their payments through the department’s Online Services website.
Annual forestry premiums totalling €24.2 million were paid in last week’s bulk payment run in respect of over 7,000 applications.
Minister Hackett said:
“I very much welcome this significant payment to forest owners. Over 19,500 farmers are already enjoying the benefits that forestry brings to their farm enterprise. I would strongly encourage farmers who might be thinking about planting trees to speak to neighbours who have already done so, and to get in touch with a registered forester or a Teagasc Forestry adviser. The current Forestry Programme pays at the highest payment rates ever available to forest owners, and there is now an unprecedented range of planting options available: from small scale native woodlands, to agroforestry, to continuous cover forestry, among many other forest types. There are valid afforestation licences currently available to plant more than 5,000 hectares and over 3,400 felling licences were approved in 2024, and I am confident that licensing figures will continue to improve throughout 2025.”
Forest owners who have not submitted their online applications so far, can still apply online for their forestry premiums through the department’s Online Services website. This facility will remain open during the whole year, and the department will continue to process online applications for 2025 forest premiums as they are received, with payments being issued on a weekly basis.
Notes
The grants available under the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme cover the cost of establishing the forest plantation and the payment of an annual forestry premium of up to €1,142 per hectare for periods of up to 20 years. Further information about supports for forestry are available on the department’s website.