Tony McLoughlin
Question:498. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a forestry application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47741/19]
View answerTuesday, 19 November 2019
Questions (498)
Written answers
The person named submitted two applications for felling licences in June, 2019 The applicant has recently been requested to provide a harvest plan for one of the applications referenced, so no further processing on this application can take place until that is received. Both applications will be fully assessed under new Appropriate Assessment procedures which have been introduced on foot of recent changes in environmental regulations.
All forestry licence applications, including tree felling licences, must be carefully assessed by my Department to ensure that any potential impact on the surrounding environment is carefully considered. These new procedures have led to temporary disruption in terms of delivery times, but the actions now being taken will improve will improve the environmental sustainability of the process and will make for more timely decision-making in the future.