From:Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Niall Collins TD, has today announced the opening of the third tranche of the Innovative Forest Technology Scheme: Module 3 – Sustainable Forest Harvesting Machinery Grant.

Speaking on the opening, Minister Collins stated:

“I am very happy to make the next version of this scheme available to the sector and to see this new tranche opened to a wider range of applicants to now include Forestry Producer Groups and Licenced Hauliers, as well as Forestry Contractors. Previous offerings of this scheme have seen several new specialised, low-impact machines introduced to the national fleet and these machines are now working on windblow, ash dieback and broadleaf harvesting sites across the country. We need more of these, and I hope the sector can continue to invest in a sustainable and productive future in this way.”

The scheme provides support to eligible forestry contractors and timber hauliers for the purchase of new forest machinery and timber transport equipment that will optimise the performance of forest operations, including the availability of funding under the scheme towards the purchase of on-board automatic load tensioning systems for timber trucks. The adoption of this technology will help make timber transport safer and more fuel efficient.

This scheme will build on previous versions of the scheme and continue to assist with the procurement of modern, efficient, and increasingly specialised machinery and equipment for forest operations.

“The objective of this scheme is to encourage the availability of sustainable timber harvesting, extraction and transport equipment in the marketplace to protect water quality, road safety and fuel efficiency, and to deliver on environmental and operator safety objectives for forest operations.”

Under the new Sustainable Forest Harvesting Machinery Grant, aid will be payable at the maximum rate of 65% on the accepted net cost of capital investments. The minimum investment which will be considered for grant aid is €5,000 excluding VAT. The maximum grant aid level which will be considered is €50,000 excluding VAT.

The Specification document and application form are available to view onInnovative Forest Technology Scheme - Module 3: Sustainable Forest Harvesting Machinery Grant. Applications may be emailed [email protected].

The closing date for applications is 5pm, Tuesday 15 September 2026. Further information on how to apply is available on thedepartment’s website.