There was heated exchanges at an Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) forestry event in Tullamore on Thursday over the Government's response to ash dieback.

Plantation owners affected by the disease challenged Minister of State Pippa Hackett over the level of support offered to farmers.

Speakers expressed their anger at the compensation levels available to the thousands of forestry owners whose plantations have been hit by ash dieback.

Minister Hackett announced the establishment of an independent review group this week to assess existing and previous supports available to landowners with ash dieback.

'Not interested' in review

However, Simon White of the Limerick Tipperary Woodland Owners (LTWO) group said foresters were not interested in a review of the current ash dieback supports.

“We don’t need a review, we need action,” White told the meeting.

“We need farmers to be allowed to take out their dead trees and to be compensated for their losses,” he said.

Farmers who wanted to return their lands to grass or tillage should be allowed to do so, White maintained, while those who replanted their lands should be eligible for the planting premiums for a further 20 years.

Support

The Department launched the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (RUS) in 2020 to support the 6,000 farmers affected by ash dieback.

However, RUS has been roundly criticised as inadequate by plantation owners and less than 420 forestry growers have been accepted into the support scheme.

The independent review group tasked with carrying out the assessment of ash dieback supports includes former CEO of the Scottish Forestry Commission Jo O’Hara; former managing director of Irish Water Jerry Grant; and former director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Matt Crowe.

Although Minister Hackett said consultation with stakeholders will be an essential part of the review, White claimed the group chosen to do the work was "deficient".

It did not include a "voice for farmers" who had suffered the economic loss due to ash dieback, he said.

The minister’s announcement raises concerns that affected farmers and landowners will have to wait even longer

White then walked out of the meeting when Minister Hackett refused to agree that farmers with ash dieback could remove dead trees.

The LTWO chair warned that farmers affected by ash dieback would "protest and protest" until the compensation issue was settled.

Minister Hackett has said that the ash dieback review group‘s final report is due by 15 September.

Staying with ash dieback, Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture Claire Kerrane TD has raised concerns that the review of RUS could further delay the delivery of supports for farmers and landowners affected by ash dieback.

“While it is positive that Minister Hackett has committed to reviewing existing supports to address ash dieback as they are inadequate, it is disappointing that she will only review the report and recommendations from September. This really misses the urgency of this issue,” Deputy Kerrane said.

“The minister’s announcement raises concerns that affected farmers and landowners will have to wait even longer for adequate supports to address this longstanding issue,” the Sinn Féin deputy added.