Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 May 2021
181. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason licensing targets are consistently being missed by over 50% given all the resources now available to the Forest Service and the Forestry Appeals Committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26758/21]
View answerIt is not correct to say that licensing targets are being missed by 50%. There has been an increase of 11% on the number of licences issued year to date compared to the same period last year. Felling licences are up 18% in the area licensed and 27% for the volume of timber. To date, 110km of forest roads have been licensed, which is 88% of the commitment given to license 125km of forest roads this year. Finally, the area of afforestation licensed is up by 18% to date at some 2,000ha.
I expect the Department to issue 4,500 forestry licences this year, which is an increase of 75% of the output in 2020 and 25% of that commitment has already been delivered.
Regarding appeals, since the commencement last October of the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2020, additional resources have been deployed to the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC). The FAC can now sit in up to four divisions of itself, which has made significant inroads into the backlog of appeals. Since the new legislation, the FAC now schedules on average 57 appeal hearings per month, up from about 24 per month. This increase in the number of hearings each month, provides clarity and certainty to all parties – applicants and appellants – and I am advised that the Committee expects, once all older cases are dealt with, that from the 3rd quarter of this year there will a turnaround time of two months on appeals.
My colleague, Minister of State Pippa Hackett who has responsibility for forestry, has established Project Woodland, to work with stakeholders to examine all aspects of forestry, including a review of processes with a view to reducing the licensing backlog. This process is being implemented intensively and the Working Groups are meeting regularly and I understand are shortly due to come forward with recommendations in some cases.
The Working Group dealing with the backlog is working on publishing a process and targets for its reduction and other improvements to the system and structure are being examined. The Working Group examining process improvement is looking at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the various licensing process so that they deliver better results, fully address legal and regulatory requirements and deploy resources as effectively as possible.
Along with Minister Hackett, I remain hopeful that the framework now in place under Project Woodland will address our current difficulties and will result in a licensing system which meets the needs of forest owners and new applicants.
