Forestry premium payments for 2018 for over 7,000 forest owners have been issued.
The announcement came from Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Andrew Doyle yesterday morning.
The annual tax-free forestry premiums are currently being payed to forest owners who applied through the Department’s online services website.
Minister Doyle said:
“Some 7,300 forest premium applications have been paid this week amounting to €27.8 million. This is a significant investment in rural Ireland. The Department will continue to process online applications for 2018 forest premiums as they are received, with payments continuing on a weekly basis throughout the year. This first payment is for applications received online which shows the benefit of applying online for forest owners. I would encourage others to consider this option in future.”
The Minister is urging landowners to seriously consider forestry as a land use option.
It should be noted, forest owners who have not submitted their online applications so far, can still apply online for their forestry premiums through the IFORIS Internet portal via www.agfood.ie.
Minister Doyle concluded:
“There are a range of schemes available under the current Forestry Programme so I believe that landowners should check those out in order to make a fully-informed decision.
“The extent of payments being issued this week illustrates how forestry can provide a regular income stream for up to 15 years for Irish farmers. In the next few weeks, I expect to be announcing the outcome of a Mid Term Review of the 2014-2020 Forestry Programme which will make further exciting changes to these schemes.”
