Concerns around investment funds snapping up more land for forestry using Department of Agriculture forestry payments have been raised by the joint Oireachtas committee on agriculture.

TDs and senators warned that farmers may be unable to compete with large investment funds when farmland goes up for sale, despite farmers having higher payment rates than investors under the new €1.3bn Forestry Programme.

“The vast majority of the suitable new land that will go into afforestation and come onto the open market and be sold will go into the hands of investors,” committee chair and Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill told Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and Minister of state Pippa Hackett last week.

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“In my vision for the forestry sector in Ireland, I would rather see it in the hands of local farmers and locals,” Cahill said.

“I know the strategy has been devised, but it is most definitely an issue with the competition that will be there for land. The bias will be too much in favour of private investors.”

Concerns were also raised by Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice at the committee meeting that a “big cartel or big company” could draw down unlimited funds through the new forestry programme as no limit is placed on how much one single entity can draw down.

Native tree scheme

The committee also heard that farmers in some areas, such as those with peat deeper than 30cm, who apply for the recently launched Native Tree Area Scheme, may have to apply for a forestry licence to enter the scheme.

This is despite one the scheme’s main selling points being the licensing exemption for planting an area of 1ha or less.

“There will be certain areas of the country that will be told ‘no’ straight away,” Minister Hackett stated.

“If they are told ‘no’, they will be encouraged to look at getting a licence and through the licensing process, they might well be allowed.”

Minister Hackett added that “two-thirds of the country should be available for farmers to plant on”.