Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 October 2021
292. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the meetings the Minister of State with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity had with banks in relation to forestry contractors; the banks they met with; the dates these meetings took place on; the outcomes of these meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51398/21]
View answerI can confirm that both myself and Minister of State Pippa Hackett have held meetings with bank officials in relation to forestry.
Minister Hackett met with officials from Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and AIB in September 2020 and discussed, inter alia, cashflow for operators within the forestry sector.
I met with the CEO of AIB in October 2020 and the CEOs of Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank in November 2020. I raised the issue of temporary liquidity difficulties in the forestry sector and asked that credit demand from forestry contractors be examined in the context of the situation regarding licensing.
The Irish forestry sector is a significant employer in rural Ireland of almost 12,000 jobs. I and Minister Hackett, who has overall responsibility for the sector, remain committed to supporting the sector and to addressing licensing issues.
We have a framework in place through Project Woodland to deal with the backlog of licences and we have invested significant time and resources in doing so. This is producing results, with 585 licences issued in September, the highest in any month since April 2019. We will continue to work on sustaining licence output for the benefit of all involved in the sector.
