Press release
Minister Hackett welcomes first meeting of new Ash Dieback Taskforce
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity in the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM), has welcomed the first meeting of the Ash Dieback Taskforce this afternoon.
The Taskforce is a DAFM-chaired group, comprised of the relevant stakeholders including representatives of ash plantation owners, whose purpose is to facilitate a co-ordinated response and a swift implementation of the Ash Dieback Action Plan.
Minister Hackett commented:
“When bringing the Ash Dieback Action Plan to Cabinet last month, together with an additional €79.5 million in funding for ash plantation owners, I stated my strong commitment to ensuring that my Department acts swiftly to implement all of the recommendations of the Independent Review that I commissioned into previous handling of the outbreak of ash dieback. Stakeholder participation and representation of ash plantation owners will be central to my Department’s implementation of the Action Plan, and today’s first meeting of the Ash Dieback Taskforce is a key step along this road.
Concluding, the Minister said:
“The Taskforce will be the forum through which my Department will engage in an open and detailed manner with representatives of landowners and of the wider forestry sector as we move forward to implement the Action Plan. I welcome the constructive engagement of all concerned at today’s first meeting, and I look forward to continued progress over the coming months.”
The overall support for ash plantation owners amounts to potentially €237 million, including the new €79.5 million Climate Action Performance Payment, which will be paid at a rate of €5,000 per hectare. This new payment is available to all ash forest owners who, under a Departmental ash dieback reconstitution scheme, clear their sites and carry out replanting.
Ends
Notes for editors
The Ash Dieback Task Force will meet 4 times a year, for a period of up to 3 years. Meeting agenda agreed minutes and actions will be available on the department’s web site.
The following organisations attended today’s meeting of the Taskforce:
| FSCC Ash Dieback Task Force Members | Organisation |
| Donal Whelan | ITGA |
| Padraig Egan | FII |
| Jason Fleming | IFA |
| Tom Houlihan | Teagasc |
| Derek McCabe | IFO |
| John Roche | SEEFA |
| Simon White | LTWO |
The Action Plan is available on the department’s website here.
The Reconstitution Scheme for Ash Dieback, under the new 2023-2027 National Forestry Programme is available : gov - Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (Ash Dieback) (www.gov.ie)