Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
135. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a series of submissions by campaigners (details supplied) regarding the upcoming agriculture appeals (amendment) Bill 2020 will be examined in order to improve the processing and quality of decisions and appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24049/20]
View answerFirstly let me say that I very much welcome the response to the publication of the draft Agriculture Appeals Amendment Bill. This is a very important Bill which is intended to improve and reform the forestry appeals process. As is well known, the urgent need for such reform is evident from the delays being experienced on hearings which is not in the interest of any stakeholder. This Bill allows for more efficiencies in the Forestry Appeals Committee's work by aligning it with best practice in other planning and appeals processes.
My Department has received almost 9,000 submissions which shows that this is an issue which has generated intense public interest. There are a a range of views expressed but our analysis to date indicates that a significant majority support the introduction of the Bill and the measures therein. These will all be published on the Department's website once they have been reviewed. I would like to assure the House that all contributions are being carefully considered for the drafting of the final Bill, which will be presented to the House as soon as possible.
I am also continuing to improve the system by continuously reviewing the resource requirements to the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC). Additional resources have been assigned to the FAC, including additional administrative resources and personnel with planning expertise, to assist with administering appeals. These will be added to in the near future. We are also introducing an on-line portal for easy access to view all licence applications.
I believe that the proposed Bill, along with our Project Plans for managing the licencing backlog, will greatly improve the overall system and result in an increase in the number of licences available for planting and felling.
It is clear to me that greater dialogue must be an essential element of future policy-making on forestry in this country. The views of all stakeholders are important but equally important is that they're communicating them directly to each other in a constructive and open dialogue. It is for this reason that I intend to reform the Forestry Programme Implementation Group to help me as Minister on the implementation of the current Programme and other relevant policy issues. I intend to make further announcements on this in the very near future.
