Matt Carthy
Question:839. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the updated forestry licensing target by licence type for 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6720/22]
View answerTuesday, 8 February 2022
Questions (839)
Written answers
My Department issued 4,050 forestry licences last year, which is an increase of 56% on the number issued in 2020, and met our revised target of 4,000 licences. It is our intention to build on this momentum in 2022.
I published a licensing plan for 2022 last week, detailing a range of forestry priorities for 2022. On licensing the main priorities are:
- A target of 5,250 new licences to issue, which is a year-on-year increase of 30%.
- A higher priority will be given to afforestation licences for 2022 with a 107% increase in output up to 1,040.
- There will be a year-on-year increase of 48% of private felling, roads and afforestation files. Coillte felling licences will maintain the levels they achieved in 2021.
- The Department will also refocus on the delivery of approvals from several schemes including Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (RUS) (Ash Dieback), the Reconstitution of Woodland Scheme (Frost), the Native Woodland Scheme and a proposed small-scale planting scheme for up to one hectare of native species.
My Department will continue to issue progress updates weekly through our forestry dashboard and quarterly through a more comprehensive KPI update on implementation of the licensing strategy.