The Minister made the comments after he met with members of Leitrim IFA in Drumshambo on Tuesday morning to discuss farmers' growing concerns about the amount of land planted in the county.

While the Minister stopped short of giving a full pledge that extended site notice will be implemented, he did give a promise that it will be looked into “before the planting season starts begins” this October.

Many farmers vented their frustration at the current policy, which they believe does not give enough notice that local land is being planted. A similar sentiment is shared by Leitrim’s IFA chair James Gallagher.

“It would need to have the same timeframe as any other planning permission procedure takes, which is 10 weeks. The current system is far too short and doesn’t give farmers enough time to raise the issues associated with planting.”

Under the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme 2014-2020, the current public notice period is four weeks.

The meeting raised many issues regarding planting forestry in the county and Gallagher described it as “progressive and productive”.

Listen to Minister Doyle discuss some of these issues in our podcast below and read more in the Irish Farmers Journal next week.