Forestry Sector

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 February 2022

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Questions (840)

Matt Carthy

Question:

840. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the allocation in 2022 for a new system facilitating a pre-application engagement between the forester and his Department; the number of individual licences the pilot applies to; the types of licences the pilot applies to; when the pilot is due to conclude; if successful, when it is intended to roll-out the scheme more broadly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6721/22]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Mackinnon report commissioned by the Department to review the processes and procedures for forestry licenses in Ireland, recommended that pre-applications discussions be implemented. This is intended as a tool to help foresters understand the regulatory aspects of a particular application through a pre-application discussion with the Department forestry inspector.

The details of this were worked out under Project Woodland and a pilot Pre-Application Discussion (PAD) opened on 18th January 2022 and will run until 18th April 2022.

The PAD is for afforestation proposals only. All registered foresters are invited to take part in a PAD if they have a potential afforestation site in the designated pilot areas. After the pilot, my Department will work with stakeholders to review the main outcomes from the pilot phase and develop a national roll-out plan.