Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 March 2021
1254. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding forestry licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16425/21]
View answer1264. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the number of forestry licences issued during the week ending 19 March 2021 fell to 15; his views on the reason for same despite additional ecologists and forestry inspectors being taken on; and the consequences for the industry of such a reduction in the processing of licences. [16743/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1254 and 1264 together.
The Forestry Dashboard for week ending 19 March, noted that a total of 15 forestry licences issued – one tree felling licence, four afforestation and 10 for forest road works. In addition to this, seven licences that had been remitted to my Department following appeal to the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) were reissued. This was clearly an outlier week relative to every other week to date this year.
The average number of licences issuing year to date is 67 new licences every week. In the week just gone, the figure was 65. Year to date afforestation licences are up 14% (in hectares), road licences are up 125% (in km) and felling up 53% (in m3) when compared to same quarter last year.
We are still committed to meeting our target of 4,500 new licences for 2021 and it is essential that we do so. There will be weeks within the year when the figures fluctuate and its important to keep the focus on the high level targets for the year which are needed for the sector to continue to develop.
There are a number of factors which can influence the figures and, in the month of March, the impact on the high level figures is because Coillte now have almost all their licensing requirements already issued for 2021. In week ending 19th March, they submitted 1,864 licences for their proposed clear fell operations in 2022 and 2023. Coillte licensing now enters an interim phase, while the initial processing stages of these new licences takes place before further licences issue, as happens when a new batch of applications is received. I would like to note here that these new applications and supporting documents may be viewed for the first time, in my Department’s Forestry Licence Viewer, which assists the public in participating in the decision-making process.
As for private forestry licences, we are continuing to aim to improve output, mindful of the additional resources deployed in recent months. The Working Groups under Project Woodland have met and engagement has been positive. Working Group 4 – Process Improvement will be looking at licensing processes, including the forestry regulation process; environmental reports and assessments; and training courses as part of their remit. I look forward to further updates on the progress of these groups and the Project as a whole.
