€23.5m in annual premiums paid to over 6,500 forestry owners
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, has today (Wednesday, January 14) announced the issuing of annual forestry premium payments for 2026.
The minister confirmed that €23.5 million in annual income tax free premiums were made to more than 6,500 forest owners last week.
The payments relate to over 57,000ha of forestry around the country.
The payments were made to forest owners who applied for their payments through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's (DAFM's) AgFood website.
Forest owners who have not submitted their applications, can still apply online for their forestry premiums.
This facility will remain open all year, and the department will continue to process online applications for 2026 forest premiums as they are received, with payments being issued on a weekly basis.
Forestry
According to data provided by DAFM, Cork recorded the highest forestry premiums paid last week at over €2.6 million, followed by Clare (€2 million) and Kerry (€1.7 million).
The full county-by-county breakdown of the payments made are as follows:
Minister Heydon said that "these annual premium payments are an important support to forest owners, together with the grants available to assist in the establishment of new plantations".
"They provide a significant support to maintaining and continuing to expand Ireland’s forestry," he said.
Minister of State at DAFM with responsibility for Forestry, Michael Healy-Rae, welcomed the "significant payment to forest owners".
The minister said that over 24,000 landowners are "already enjoying the benefits that forestry brings".
"I would strongly encourage landowners who might be thinking about planting trees to speak to neighbours who have already done so, and to get in touch with a registered forester or a Teagasc forestry adviser.
"The current Forestry Programme pays at the highest rates ever available to forest owners, and there is a range of planting options available for everyone from small-scale native woodlands, to agroforestry, to continuous cover forestry," he said.
According to DAFM, grants available under the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme cover the cost of establishing the forest plantation and the payment of an annual forestry premium of up to €1,142/ha, for periods of up to 20 years for farmers and 15 years for other applicants.
