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Felling Licences

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Questions (2536)

Colm Burke

Question:

2536. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of tree felling licences that have been approved since June 2020; the number of these licences that were for Coillte; the number that were for private growers; the average time between the submission of the licence and approval for both Coillte licences and private licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20054/21]

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Written answers

I am aware of the issues facing the forestry sector and the timber industry and considerable efforts have been made to address them. Significant additional resources have been recruited and training, information and guidance has been provided to both Departmental staff and registered foresters and, as a result, we have seen gains in terms of output.

The introduction of Project Woodland, recently launched by Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has responsibility for forestry, is our strategy for resolving the licensing issues. This new structure aims to ensure that the current backlog is addressed. The Project involves a review and refresh of our processes and procedures and includes outside stakeholder participation to bring an independent perspective. It is a task-driven process, with clear deliverable and milestones.

A target to issue 4,500 licences in 2021 has been set which is a 75% increase on 2020. The number of private and Coillte tree felling licences issued since June 2020 and the average time to decision is in the table below.

I remain confident that the changes presented under the Project Woodland structure to processes within my Department will bear fruit, particularly to give confidence to all applicants that they can receive a timely decision on their forestry licence application.

June 2020 - March 2021

No. Issued

Avg. time to issue

Private Felling

700

11 months

Coillte Felling

877

8.5 months

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