A TD has claimed that changes to the 'active farmer' definition for applying for forestry licences could "open the door" to corporate involvement in Irish forestry.

The concerns was raised by Offaly TD Carol Nolan, who was reacting to responses to parliamentary questions she had raised with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon.

Under recent changes to the definition of active farmers under the Afforestation Scheme 2023-2027, the requirement that an applicant for a forestry licence make an application under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) in the four previous years has been reduced to one year.

Minister Heydon told Nolan that there have been no applications for forestry planting since the "very recent" change was made.

Minister Heydon also said the feedback received from stakeholders during the recent mid-term review process indicated that more flexibility should be introduced in the farmer definition within the Afforestation Scheme 2023-2027 to reduce the administrative burden on farmers.

The minister said the change to the definition "will help reduce barriers for genuine farmers and new entrant farmers to engage in forestry, while keeping a protective mechanism in place to ensure that the farmer differential is targeted appropriately".

However, Deputy Nolan noted figures provided by the minister which showed that non-farmer applicants received 54% of planting grants in 2025, and 50% of planting grants so far in 2026.

Although the 'non-farmer' category includes both individual landowners who are not farming as well as corporate entities, Nolan warned that the latter category may see a disproportionate benefit from the new definition.

She said: "Family farms and rural communities are deeply worried about land speculation and corporate investors sweeping up forestry premiums.

"However, there is now a strong argument that government has made it easier for non-active farmers and companies to qualify for the lucrative 20-year afforestation premiums, while part-time, transitional, and smaller family farms could be squeezed out," Nolan claimed.

"I am calling on the minister to put strong safeguards in place to ensure that the 20-year premium is reserved for genuine active farmers, particularly young farmers and those inheriting family holdings," she said.

The independent TD added: "Forestry incentives should support rural communities and food production, not become another investment vehicle for outsiders."

Farmer response

A farm organisation has said it endorses "every word" of Nolan's concerns.

The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) said that it is "very conscious of the fact that schemes and policies that were originally designed and set up for farmers have been steadily infiltrated and then dominated by non-farmers and corporations".

Eamon Carroll, the association's deputy president, claimed: "Nowhere is this damaging phenomenon more evident than forestry, where the government seems much happier dealing with pension funds and corporations and directing premium to them.

"Forestry is the most obvious case where a whole sub-sector of farming and agri could have been developed that would have put the premiums and revenue into the individual farms and through them, into the local communities," Carroll added.

However, he said that any benefit to local communities is "hugely reduced" by the presence of corporate entities in the sector".

Carroll claimed this "also ensures that Ireland's overall forestry sector remains underdeveloped and of the crude 'one-size-fits-fall' category that falls well below where other countries are heading".