Open Call for Proposals for Woodland Support Projects for 2021/2022 - Specification and Application Form Introduction
Woodlands and Forestry haves many benefits for society including economic, social and environmental ones. They are a source of timber products, recreational spaces and habitat for biodiversity while also providing an important source of income for rural communities.
The Forestry Programme 2014 – 2020 (extended to end 2022) provides funding to the forestry sector in Ireland and consists of a number of measures aimed at the following:
increasing the level of forest cover,
increasing the supply of forest-based biomass,
supporting private forest holders in actively managing their forests, and
SHARING OPTIONS:
Gavin Lynch with some of his Shorthorn herd, combines dairy and sheep farming with hazel growing in this agroforestry section of Hells Kettle Organic Farm, Donard, Co Wicklow.
Forestry is identified as one of the land uses that has “high-level targets for 2030” in the recently launched draft agri-food strategy 2030. The strategy contains a number of positive objectives for forestry to “increase afforestation and double the sustainable production of biomass from forests by 2035”.
Other goals emphasise the role of forestry in enhancing biodiversity and developing “diverse multipurpose forests”.
It also calls for a new forestry strategy, which “will be critical if the sector is to maximise its potential contribution to the economy and to rural communities”.
Farmers and members of the public can make submissions online or by post. \ Philip Doyle
Farmers and members of the public can make submissions in regard to the setting of upcoming emission targets in the climate bill from 19 April until 15 June.
The launch of the draft Agri-Food Strategy to 2030 was welcomed by the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue.
“It considers many of the issues that will be central to the development of the sector over the next 10 years,” the minister said.
“These include a strong focus on improving primary producer viability and farm incomes; the importance of ensuring that our food offering continues to be high-quality, safe and healthy; the need to embrace innovation and improve competitiveness; and the requirement for an environmentally sustainable agri-food sector.”
Portlaoise s Medical Mile
Reporter:
Prof Henry O Connell Consultant Psychiatrist and Associate Clinical Professor (UL), and Triogue Community Mental Health Centre, Portlaoise
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Portlaoise is the county town of Laois and, with a current population of 22,000, one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland. Centrally located in the Irish midlands and within commuting distance of Dublin, Waterford and Limerick, Portlaoise has in recent years become increasingly cosmopolitan, with a young population and growth in many local industries.
Portlaoise began as a stone fortification built by English settlers in the mid-16th century. This was part of a wider Tudor plantation policy whereby English settlers were moved onto land confiscated by the Crown from the native Irish.