Many damaged forestry owners are still in limbo. Michael Healy-Rae, Minister of State of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Navy, with special responsibility for forestry, agricultural security and horticulture, said nearly 24,000 hectares of forestry had been damaged by Storm Eowyn; This represents around 3% of all the forest lands of the Republic of Ireland.
An important part of these plantations should be clear in part or entirely. Forest owners are frustrated that clear discharge licenses are necessary to extract wood.
However, there are good news on this front with clarity after having been issued from the Ministry of Agriculture according to which clear licenses on existing date (including the combined slim license and clartes) can be used to fall and eliminate trees, where forest plots covered by these licenses have damage caused by the wind caused by Darragh and / or Eowyn storms.
The existing conditions of the license apply to any cutting, slaughter and removal of wood, including all synchronization restrictions in the license conditions which could apply.
When a forest owner has an exclusion license only, the owners can now complete and submit a notification form to the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that his license is extended to deal with recent damage caused by the storm.
Forest owners who do not have a current license in Far Fell or slimming can obtain an accelerated request by advancing the Ministry of Agriculture at their request.
According to Teagasc, the damage caused by the storm equivalent to more than what would be regularly harvested in two years. Fear among forest owners affected by storms is that the trees damaged by the storm deteriorate in quality if it is not harvested within a reasonably short time.
From a tax point of view, forest owners will be able to receive any product from the slimming, partial compensation or clear discharge of their forests without income tax.
Forest owners are however in a precarious position because there is a limited harvest capacity, which means that the wooden processors can be picky on the sites that they will really take into account the dynamics of over-application.
The offices which may have trouble stored include areas undergoing a relatively smaller quantum of damage, a smaller global size, clumsy sites, either in terms of land or access and sites where trees are not close to maturity and have less value for the wood treatment industry.
Forest owners are also left in the limbo to find out if the forest bonuses which can be payable for the first 20 years of planting will continue to be paid for plots where damage caused by the storm have taken place.
In terms of insurance, forest owners fear that certain seriously affected areas will no longer be covered, even if certain forests in these areas have escaped, and separately, many fear that the cost of insurance increases.
Michael Healy-Rae previously expressed his ambitions to put Ireland’s forest program on the right track by ensuring that the Ministry of Agriculture and the stakeholders work better with farmers.
Having been thrown in the background with Storm Eowyn, it remains to be seen if the existing forest owners will be adequately adapted by the Ministry of Agriculture with Michael Healy-Rea in the driving seat.
Knowing that the Ministry of Agriculture will not be found in the event of events once in generation is a precursor to register confidence for any other landowner who could consider forestry as an option.
From a tax point of view, forestry continues to be extremely attractive with the ability to earn free wood sales and sales income with special tax rules that also responded to exemptions and reduction in capital gains, stamp duties and gifts on gifts and inheritance in certain cases.
The exemption from the above-mentioned capital gains available for forest owners who are individual (non-company), only applies to standing wood.
It also remains to be seen whether remuneration will come from the Ministry of Agriculture, conditions relating to the same thing and if such payment would be considered as a income from forestry and therefore an income tax or a capital transaction, which under existing legislation would not be considered exempt from capital gains.
(Tagstotranslate) #Farming columnist – Kieran coughlan (T) #Farming – Agrobusiness (T) #weather
