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Forestry Sector

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 October 2021

Tuesday, 12 October 2021

Questions (680, 681)

Holly Cairns

Question:

680. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of forestry licences processed monthly since 1 January 2019; and the number of applications that were approved or rejected. [49859/21]

View answer

Holly Cairns

Question:

681. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to address the backlog in applications for forestry licences. [49860/21]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 680 and 681 together.

I fully recognise the impact the current forestry licencing delays are having on the sector.

Along with Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has overall responsibility for he 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.

The delays that have arisen were caused by changes to the licencing system as a result of Court decisions which means that a significant number of cases now need ecological input to comply with environmental requirements. To find solutions towards resolving these issues, as well as focusing 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, chaired by my Department, published its first Interim Report in July and the Project Manager has published the Project Charter which details project management oversight.

As part of Project Woodland, we are about the select a preferred bidder with 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.

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, in September licences exceeded expected levels with a total of 585 licences issued. This means that September will be the highest month this year for new licences. We anticipate that we will maintain expected levels of output to the end of the year.

Along Minister of State Hackett, we recognise that the delivery of afforestation licences needs to improve. We are now putting in place a dedicated team of 10 ecologists who will deal solely with these licences for the foreseeable future. This will increase output over the coming weeks. Productivity will depend on the quality of the information provided (that is, NISs, ecology reports, prescreening reports, and habitat maps) provided.

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.

The Department publishes a range of forestry licence statistics on the Forestry pages of its website at gov.ie. The number of forestry licence applications received, licences issued and refusals since 1st January 2019, are given in the attached table.

Table

Question No. 681 answered with Question No. 680.
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