Niall Collins
Question:1552. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42102/21]
View answerThursday, 9 September 2021
Questions (1552)
Written answers
Along with Minister of State Pippa Hackett who has overall responsibility for the sector, I fully recognise the impact the current forestry licencing delays are having on the sector.
I am in regular and intensive consultation with all stakeholders, and it is my immediate priority to resolve the issues which have led to this backlog and to issue licences in the volume needed for this important sector to continue to contribute to our rural economy. I know too that afforestation is key to meeting our environmental objectives under the Climate Action Plan and in terms of biodiversity, as outlined in the Programme for Government.
The delays that have arisen were caused by changes to law and relevant court judgements which have required us to radically amend our licencing procedures. To find solutions towards resolving these issues, as well as focussing on woodland creation, Project Woodland was initiated early in 2021. It comprises four working groups, each with an independent chair and with members drawn from forestry and eNGO stakeholders on the Forestry Policy Group. The Project Board, led by Secretary General of the Department, meets regularly to monitor the progress of the working groups and a Project Manager has been assigned.
As part of Project Woodland, a tender has recently issued to source legal and environmental expertise to carry out an in-depth review of the forestry licensing system. It will review the existing statutory framework for the licencing of forestry activities in relation to environmental and public participation obligations in order that practical advice can be provided to the Department on how to work more efficiently within the existing legal framework.
The business systems analysis currently being undertaken by an independent systems analyst will interact with and run parallel with the regulatory review, so that best possible system improvements are delivered.
Alongside Project Woodland, the Department continues to look at system improvements which will increase processing time. A recent improvement introduced in the preparation of the various Appropriate Assessment documents have allowed for output improvements. These improvements have been rolled out to forest road licences and will shortly apply to afforestation.
On afforestation, forestry licences are valid for three years and at present there are 5,700ha of approved forestry ready to plant. The planting season normally runs from October to May annually. The Department has also assigned additional resources to afforestation licencing to increase output for the planting season this year.
In June this year, the Department issued 415 forestry licences. This output was interrupted in July and August by the introduction of a new requirement for public participation under SI 293/2021, signed on 25th June by the Minister for Housing Local Government and Heritage and which applies to all similar planning issues. However, last week licences returned to expected levels with 110 new licences issued and we expect this increased output to continue through to the end of the year.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate my commitment to supporting the forest sector and to building on the recent progress, so that a continual improvement in delivery is achieved.