New IFA Farm Forestry Chair Elected

Padraig Stapleton from Upperchurch in North Tipperary has been elected chair of the IFA Farm Forestry Committee.

At today’s meeting of the Farm Forestry Committee, he was elected to succeed Jason Fleming.

Padraig Stapleton said he looked forward to representing farmers with forestry and thanked his predecessor for his work on behalf of the forestry sector.

“The reality is that many farmers no longer view forestry as a safe investment. The risks associated with committing their land in perpetuity have become too great. New measures and a review of policy are needed to reverse the decline in afforestation; to de-risk the investment; and restore confidence while ensuring a balanced regional spread of forestry,” he said.

He said the new Ash Dieback Reconstitution Scheme is an improvement from earlier iterations of the scheme.  However, further improvements are required, particularly around the clearance grant.

“Although there have been improvements in the turnaround times for licences, the conditions being attached in some instances are making operations completely unworkable.  They are having a significant impact on costs, and therefore the viability of forests, particularly smaller farm forests,” he said.

He said he would be working with the Committee to progress these issues as part of IFA’s pre-Budget process.