The Department of Agriculture has defended Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae’s comments that the planting of forests on some peat soils should be considered.

A spokesperson stressed that the Department was not in favour of planting on “deep peat sites where there is a net carbon emission”, but insisted that forests planted on peat soils “can contribute to climate, biodiversity and timber production”.

State Aid approval rules permit the planting of forests on shallow peat soils, less than 30cm deep, and some midland fen peats planted with native woodlands, with these thresholds informed by studies carried out in 2022, the Department pointed out.

“There may be more opportunities to plant forests on certain types of peat soils, that have a positive or neutral contribution from a carbon point of view. To examine this more Ireland needs more science to support our decisions,” a Department of Agriculture spokesperson said in reply to questions from the Irish Farmers Journal.

The Department is investing €2.7m on research into this area of forestry on peat soils, with initial results expected before the end of 2027.

“The research study funded by the Department of Agriculture will examine representative examples of forests growing on a range of different peat soil depths and is not limited to shallow peat soils,” the Department spokesperson said.

“The aim is to provide much-needed data on the complex nature of carbon emissions on peat soils to help inform future approaches to managing these forests and contribute to Ireland’s climate and land use reporting. The study seeks to improve understanding of how forests perform on peatland sites under a variety of conditions,” the spokesperson added.

In recent comments Minister Healy-Rae maintained that planting forestry on peat was not “black and white”, but he insisted that Ireland’s approach had to be based on science and further research was needed.

In its response to the Irish Farmers Journal, the Department pointed out that there are some soils in agricultural use which have some element of peat that may be suited to forestry on a case-by-case basis: “It is important that any decisions made are grounded in science and the Department will continue to review all available data.”

Environmental activists and climate change academics have voiced serious misgivings regarding Minister Healy-Rae’s intentions in relation to the planting of peatlands.

Peter Thorne, a professor of climate change at Maynooth University, said afforesting peatlands was “environmental vandalism” and “about the dumbest thing we can do” from the point of view of climate action.