Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020
817. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to restructure the Forestry Service in view of the implementation of the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provision) Act 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40414/20]
View answerI commenced the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2020 on 7th October and at the same time, signed regulations, giving effect to the provisions of the Act. The Act makes various provisions for the structuring of the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC), to enable it to more efficiently hear appeals against decisions on forestry licences amongst other matters. The FAC is operationally independent of my Department.
I have moved quickly to appoint new members to the FAC, which comprises internal and external members. The appointment of three Deputy Chairs means that with the existing Chair and two additional ordinary members, the Committee has operated in four divisions since 9th November, 2020.
The FAC hear both oral and non-oral hearing appeals. All appeals hearings are being held remotely due to Covid-19 restrictions and the hearings are conducted five days a week. Since the introduction of the additional committees, sixty-one cases have been heard with a further forty-two hearings scheduled to take place in December.
I have also assigned a number of administrative staff to the FAC as well as three planners who have been contracted to assist the FAC in preparing documentation for the committees.
With regard to the forestry service of my own Department, I have also invested heavily in resources to help deliver improved licensing ouptut. We now have 16 full-time equivalent ecologists where previously we had one and are also recruiting 10 new forestry inspectors. These are already showing early signs of progress with licensing out for October and November the highest months to date this year. We still have a considerable distance to go in terms of implementation of the plan and my Department will be keeping all matters under continuous review.
I, along with everyone in my Department, remain fully committed to addressing the current issues in the forestry sector.
