New Forest Technology Scheme Not Fit for Purpose – IFA
IFA Farm Forestry Chair Padraig Stapleton has criticised the new Innovative Forest Technology Scheme highlighting the small budget and saying that the scheme is not fit for purpose.
This scheme was created to encourage and incentivise the use of specialised equipment for the harvesting and extraction of forestry. This equipment will help to decrease the impact on sites with soft soils and rough terrain while increasing the safety of the operator by being suitable for these types of sites.
“Up to four projects per year will be grant aided, with a budget of €50,000 for each. If the budget is not used, more than four projects may be considered. However, the overall budget is insufficient, given the scale of operations across the country,” Mr. Stapleton said.
Padraig Stapleton said that the reason the scheme is unrealistic is due to the small budget allocated and although it has potential the scheme at present is not adequate to meet its aims.
He also expressed his dissatisfaction that the scheme has only been made available to existing experienced operators of forestry extraction and harvesting services and that it does not cover conventional harvesting and forwarding machinery.
