The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Andrew Doyle, today announced a new scheme to establish Knowledge Transfer Groups (KTGs) for forestry. The scheme comes on foot of a pilot run last year for these groups.

According to a statement issued by the Minister, these KTGS are aimed at private forest owners that require additional knowledge to help them undertake appropriate management activities in their forests.

Discussions will be facilitated by a professional forester and will incorporate both classroom-style learning, as well as practical elements. The full terms and conditions of the scheme are available on the Department’s website.

Each KTG can have a maximum of 20 participants and each participant will need to attend seven meetings or outdoor events in order to complete the programme. The KTG participant will be reimbursed €70/meeting attended.

A minimum of four meetings must be attended in order for the participant to become eligible for reimbursement of any costs. This will be verified by attendance sheets. In other words, if the participant only attended three meetings then no reimbursement is due. If he/she attends four then the individual would be due €280 (4* €70).

The maximum payment to each participant is €490. The KTG organiser must make payments that are due to participants within 20 working days from the date of receipt of the payment from the Department.