Minister of State for land use and biodiversity Pippa Hackett has launched a new pilot scheme to increase the proportion of forest land under permanent forestry cover.

The new scheme has various grant rates, with €4,000 available for high ecological priority native forest areas.

Apart from that, premium payments are available per year for seven years.

The Climate Resilient Reforestation Pilot Scheme has been developed to "increase the climate resilience of the national forest estate", according to Minister Hackett.

"It provides a pathway to a greater species diversity, decreasing the risk from pest, disease and extreme weather events such as drought and windblow," the minister added.

The new scheme is being initially launched as a pilot scheme and offers financial support to forest owners who wish to reforest for a different purpose.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the scheme will build capacity for more sustainable forests that can produce high quality timber products and deliver ecosystem services, such as protecting and improving soil and water quality.

Minister Hackett commented: "We look forward to engaging with forest owners on their plans for their next forest rotation and incorporating the learning from these experiences into future plans for the scheme."

Forest owners can choose from three different elements in the Climate Resilient Reforestation Pilot Scheme, as follows:

Element 1 - reforestation for continuous cover forestry (CCF);
Element 2 - reforestation for native forests;
Element 3 - reforestation for biodiversity and water.

The grant rates available under the scheme are as follows:

The annual premium rates, meanwhile, are: