Over €480m is to be invested in forestry in Ireland.

The Government has secured €482m State Aid approval for the new Forestry Programme, covering the period 2014 – 2020.

The new programme introduces a number of important structural and design changes.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Tom Hayes said: "Restructuring forestry schemes so that they present real options for landowners in terms of generating alternative sources of income has been an important objective of my Department and one which was factored into the design of the programme from the outset."

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A new single rate of premium has been introduced for farmers and non farmers. The new agro forestry and forestry for fibre measures are targeted specifically at farmers providing them with options for grazing livestock alongside forestry and in the case of forestry for fibre, harvesting timber after 10 to 15 years rather than 30 to 40 years as is the case with other types of forestry.

One of the principal drivers behind this investment decision is the huge potential that exists for expansion in the Forestry Sector.

"The Forestry sector contributes €2.3 billion to GDP annually and employs 12,000 people. My Department's analysis shows that the opportunity exists to increase even further the contribution that forestry can make to Ireland's economy," added Minister Hayes.

(CD/JP)