Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021
609. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on a forestry application by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36467/21]
View answerAn application for an afforestation licence and the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme was received in October 2019 for the person named and has been referred to my Department’s Ecology Unit. The application site is near eight designated sites including the Killarney National Park SPA. Therefore, the impact of any afforestation operations on the sites and the surrounding area, must be carefully considered before deciding on the licence application.
If the applicant wishes, they may provide a Natura Impact Statement (NIS). The NIS must be prepared by a suitably qualified person. An NIS can considerably reduce the time taken to assess the application as, once received, the NIS will be examined by an ecologist within two to three months and a decision will issue once the assessment of the application is complete.
It is difficult to predict a timeframe for progressing this file in the absence of an NIS being submitted by the applicant.
