Forestry Sector

Tuesday, 21 July 2020

Questions (522)

Holly Cairns

Question:

522. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of licences for felling, afforestation and forest roads issued by month between 1 January 2015 and 1 June 2020, inclusive in tabular form. [17098/20]

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Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My Department provides extensive statistical data on its website. It must be noted that prior to the commencement of the Forestry Act, 2014 on 24th May, 2017, consent for afforestation and forest road works was by way of approval rather than by licence. The following tables provide the number of approvals/licences issued for the years 2015 to 30th June, 2020.

I am acutely aware that delays in issuing licences has led to difficulties for some in the sector. My Department is intensively engaging with all relevant stakeholders on these issues. The current licensing difficulties are as a result of the changes made to internal Appropriate Assessment Procedures (AAP). These were introduced in response to important Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decisions and their subsequent interpretation by the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) and others. These findings meant that in order to grant licences which fully meet environmental requirements, fundamental changes to the licensing system were unavoidable. All licence applications are subject to a statutory public notification system.

I accept the current changes to procedures are very significant and they have been challenging to implement such is the scope and breadth of them, which has unfortunately meant that there have been delays in issuing licences. It has taken substantial resources and effort to introduce a robust and workable system, which meets the legislative requirements, and I believe we now have that in place. My Department's licensing decisions are being confirmed at the Forestry Appeals Committee, which gives confidence in these revised procedures.

My Department has a detailed project plan in place for dealing with the current backlog and new applications, which includes significant investment in extra resources required to deliver the plan. These resources are a combination of additional ecologists, forestry inspectors and administrative staff where required.

The project plan is a targeted, process-driven approach which prioritise files in a manner which will result in an increased number of licences being issued in the short-term and will deliver a return to expected timelines in the longer term. Applicants who have or are prepared to submit a Natura Impact Statement, where appropriate, will be prioritised.

A Project Management Board, with a dedicated Project Manager, will oversee and monitor delivery. There will be a continuous review of the process, in order to effect efficiencies. A communication plan to keep stakeholders fully and regularly informed of progress, with a dedicated central resource to deal with queries, is a key element of the project. While much of the success of the project plan lies with my Department, stakeholders also need to engage with it. This will require a commitment from forestry companies to submit only applications which have a realistic chance of being planted, to ensure all applications are of the required standard and quality, and to submit NISs in accordance with the guidance provided.

I am more than aware that the current situation is challenging, but it is a temporary disruption which, when resolved, will make for a better, more sustainable and fit-for-purpose forestry licensing system for many years to come.

Afforestation	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
January	151	122	160	84	63	41
February	151	124	99	104	78	58
March	183	158	154	109	69	56
April	169	182	170	120	87	69
May	152	135	140	67	57	33
June	126	86	106	47	32	22
July	92	68	51	31	30
August	104	85	54	35	60
September	114	107	55	71	22
October	152	113	64	78	42
November	223	176	101	55	26
December	134	110	89	54	22
Total	1,751	1,466	1,243	855	588	279

Forest Roads	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
January	54	47	48	35	101	19
February	22	27	37	31	59	32
March	29	36	29	28	39	40
April	26	24	37	21	51	38
May	31	39	31	36	48	37
June	22	41	44	37	47	24
July	43	50	38	26	48
August	53	80	43	60	46
September	49	62	35	38	25
October	37	48	41	62	24
November	50	43	64	53	22
December	59	32	33	34	32
Total	475	529	480	461	542	190

Tree Felling	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
January	302	235	245	232	513	81
February	242	274	167	106	1,079	177
March	126	185	181	203	664	180
April	109	114	132	130	568	127
May	145	234	190	212	124	149
June	98	177	59	149	272	85
July	124	206	444	83	356
August	85	275	408	704	124
September	249	497	540	738	156
October	805	324	165	579	73
November	258	2,927	358	386	134
December	199	1,283	217	81	117
Total	2,742	6,731	3,106	3,603	4,180	799