Padraig Stapleton from Upperchurch in North Tipperary has been elected as the new chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Farm Forestry Committee.
During yesterday’s (Tuesday, July 16) meeting of the committee, he was selected to succeed Jason Fleming.
Last month, Fleming was elected as the new county chair of the IFA in Co. Kerry.
Forestry
Speaking after his election, Padraig Stapleton said that he looked forward to representing farmers with forestry and thanked his predecessor for his work on behalf of the sector.
“The reality is that many farmers no longer view forestry as a safe investment. The risks associated with committing their land in perpetuity have become too great.
“New measures and a review of policy are needed to reverse the decline in afforestation; to de-risk the investment; and restore confidence while ensuring a balanced regional spread of forestry,” he said.
Stapleton acknowledged that the new Ash Dieback Reconstitution Scheme is an improvement from earlier iterations of the scheme.
Since the Forestry Programme commenced in September 2023, approvals for 2,700ha have been issued under the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme, figures by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show.
However, the new IFA chair said that further improvements are required in the scheme, particularly around the clearance grant.
“Although there have been improvements in the turnaround times for licences, the conditions being attached in some instances are making operations completely unworkable.
“They are having a significant impact on costs, and therefore the viability of forests, particularly smaller farm forests,” he said.
Stapleton added that he would be working with the IFA Forestry Committee to progress these issues as part of IFA’s pre-Budget process.