Over €1.5 million is to be distributed among Westmeath’s forestry owners under the Forestry Programme, it was announced this week.
A total of €1,523,638 has been approved under the annual forestry premiums for the county’s forestry owners, the majority of whom are farmers.
Neighbouring Roscommon has been allocated just over €2 million, Offaly €2.1m, and Longford just over €1m. In total almost €53 million in annual forestry payments is to be made to over 11,000 forest owners nationwide.
The annual forest premium is payable each year for 20 years in the case of farmers and for 15 years in the case of non-farmers. It is estimated that the total paid out in forest premium payments will exceed €60 million by the end of this year.
Announcing the funding, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Sean Connick, said he looked forward to working with the industry and the farming community for the development of a sustainable forestry sector, given its importance to farmers, to the economy, to the environment, and to society generally.
“I believe that we need to work together to foster this invaluable indigenous industry in order to derive its full potential,” he said.
Minister Connick emphasised that the importance of forestry was underlined by the Government’s commitments in the renewed Programme for Government and the allocation of almost €120 million to forestry for 2010.
Referring to the forest policy review currently being undertaken to review all aspects of the Forestry Programme, he said it was “encouraging to note the level of participation by interested parties and stakeholders evident from the significant number of submissions received in response to the consultation element of the review”.
