Written Answers Nos. 811-830
811. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the date the current senior inspector in the Forestry Service secured employment with his Department; the date that they were appointed to their current role; the responsibilities attached to that position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5862/22]
View answer812. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the date the head of the environment section within the Forestry Service secured employment with his Department; the date they were appointed to their current role; the responsibilities attached to that position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5863/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 811 and 812 together.
My Department does not comment on matters relating to individual staff members.
813. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if frost only affects forest crops less than four years old; if frost can cause serious damage to crops greater than four years old; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5869/22]
View answerYoung forest crops at establishment phase are generally the most vulnerable to significant frost damage.
My Department has recently launched a Reconstitution of Woodland scheme to address frost damage in recently planted forest crops and is currently receiving applications. We will continue to engage with stakeholders on its operation.
814. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of participants in the Results Based Agri Environment Pilot that have applied for approval for afforestation under the afforestation grant and premium scheme in December 2021 and to date in January 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5870/22]
View answerThe Results Based Environment Agri Pilot Programme (REAP) is designed to trial the results-based approach on a national basis and to test the upscaling potential of the model for inclusion in the next national agri-environment scheme to follow GLAS. REAP incentivises farmers to maintain and improve the environmental condition of their land.
At applications stage, farmers could bring in between 2ha and 10ha of land with partnerships permitted to bring in up to 30ha. Almost 32,000ha of land has been assessment and scored under the 2021 REAP programme to establish its environmental condition. Farmers will work with their advisers to undertake environmental improvement works on the land that can increase the environmental score in year two. REAP will focus on improving existing farm features rather than the creation of new features and habitats. Farms with higher environmental scores will receive larger payments.
While parcels brought into REAP may not be converted to forestry during the term of the REAP contract, afforestation is fully compatible with REAP. REAP participants are subject to a maximum land area of 10ha for individual farmers and 30ha for partnerships of three farm holdings. The average REAP area under management per participant is 8.4ha. It is important to note that REAP is not a whole-of-farm project and that afforestation opportunities continue to exist for REAP participants on parcels that have not been selected for the project.
The programme will run to the end of 2022 and there are currently 3,740 participants in REAP, none of whom applied to afforest their land in December 2021 nor January 2022.
815. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason that his Department was unable to issue the minimum 20 afforestation licences each week or since dashboards began; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5900/22]
View answer816. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way that ecological input is being managed by his Department in view of the number of ecology staff increasing to 27 in 2021 while during the same period his Department only achieved 55% of its target for private licences with ecological input; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5901/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 815 and 816 together.
While overall forestry licensing improved significantly last year, afforestation has not improved as we would like with just over 4,200ha approved last year. Improving afforestation licensing is a key priority for 2022. A detailed licensing plan for 2022 was published last week which has as its main target the issuing of 5,250 licences this year, which is a year-on-year increase of 30%. The main targets are:
- A higher priority will be given to afforestation licences for 2022 with a planned107% 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 most 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.
Afforestation is a permanent land use change and therefore my Department is required by law to consider potential impacts on the surrounding areas and countryside.
These include issues related to habitat change, and other ecological impacts which must be considered in the process. In addition, afforestation files are often accompanied by numerous submissions from third parties.
My Department has, through Project Woodland, commissioned an independent regulatory review to consider whether its processes can be improved while continuing to fully meet the environmental requirements and has deployed additional resources to accelerate the licensing process.
817. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of felling licences issued to Coillte and the number of licences issued to private farm owners by county in each of the years 2019 to 2021 and in January 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5902/22]
View answer818. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of afforestation licences issued to Coillte and the number of licences issued to private farm owners by county in each of the years 2019 to 2021 and in January 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5903/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 817 and 818 together.
To the end of last year, 3,601 tree felling licence applications were received, split between 2,299 Coillte and 1,309 private applications (64%/36% respectively).
The greater number of applications received are from Coillte, which is responsible for much of the mature national forest estate and supplies 75% of logs to sawmills.
The tree felling licences issued to Coillte and private landowners are indicated in the table below.
|
Private 2019 |
Coillte 2019 |
Private 2020 |
Coillte 2020 |
Private 2021 |
Coillte 2021 |
Private January 2022 |
Coillte January 2022 |
|
|
Carlow |
12 |
51 |
5 |
11 |
14 |
21 |
2 |
1 |
|
Cavan |
78 |
98 |
38 |
35 |
49 |
31 |
6 |
7 |
|
Clare |
62 |
248 |
54 |
66 |
94 |
81 |
3 |
8 |
|
Cork |
109 |
414 |
97 |
106 |
165 |
165 |
12 |
11 |
|
Donegal |
35 |
191 |
6 |
54 |
30 |
146 |
6 |
8 |
|
Dublin |
4 |
23 |
3 |
7 |
3 |
15 |
0 |
4 |
|
Galway |
35 |
231 |
54 |
64 |
51 |
117 |
6 |
15 |
|
Kerry |
69 |
21 |
61 |
31 |
89 |
56 |
13 |
3 |
|
Kildare |
22 |
21 |
4 |
6 |
27 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
|
Kilkenny |
42 |
111 |
43 |
40 |
63 |
33 |
5 |
2 |
|
Laois |
24 |
112 |
14 |
64 |
63 |
51 |
13 |
8 |
|
Leitrim |
84 |
95 |
54 |
41 |
63 |
79 |
7 |
3 |
|
Limerick |
24 |
139 |
29 |
28 |
66 |
34 |
1 |
4 |
|
Longford |
31 |
41 |
18 |
5 |
27 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
|
Louth |
2 |
10 |
0 |
6 |
4 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
|
Mayo |
31 |
191 |
36 |
21 |
68 |
70 |
1 |
0 |
|
Meath |
20 |
21 |
5 |
2 |
29 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
|
Monaghan |
14 |
32 |
17 |
7 |
11 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
|
Offaly |
52 |
58 |
32 |
25 |
69 |
26 |
2 |
0 |
|
Roscommon |
60 |
80 |
82 |
15 |
71 |
27 |
12 |
1 |
|
Sligo |
49 |
104 |
41 |
14 |
51 |
46 |
5 |
8 |
|
Tipperary |
50 |
234 |
39 |
71 |
96 |
190 |
13 |
28 |
|
Waterford |
46 |
190 |
31 |
45 |
53 |
116 |
4 |
12 |
|
Westmeath |
20 |
60 |
7 |
11 |
18 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
|
Wexford |
27 |
108 |
29 |
18 |
23 |
25 |
9 |
6 |
|
Wicklow |
44 |
250 |
53 |
72 |
44 |
171 |
3 |
17 |
The afforestation licences issued to Coillte and private landowners are indicated in the table below.
|
Private 2019 |
Coillte 2019 |
Private 2020 |
Coillte 2020 |
Private 2021 |
Coillte 2021 |
Private January 2022 |
Coillte January 2022 |
|
|
Carlow |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Cavan |
45 |
2 |
36 |
0 |
31 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Clare |
47 |
1 |
31 |
0 |
34 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cork |
38 |
0 |
59 |
0 |
46 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
|
Donegal |
12 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dublin |
0 |
0 |
44 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Galway |
40 |
0 |
36 |
0 |
35 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
|
Kerry |
47 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
28 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
|
Kildare |
12 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
Kilkenny |
15 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
21 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Laois |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
Leitrim |
34 |
2 |
26 |
0 |
40 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Limerick |
0 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
18 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
|
Longford |
23 |
0 |
22 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
Louth |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Mayo |
48 |
1 |
42 |
0 |
49 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Meath |
0 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Monaghan |
19 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Offaly |
20 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
|
Roscommon |
53 |
2 |
47 |
1 |
40 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Sligo |
28 |
1 |
17 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
|
Tipperary |
0 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
14 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
|
Waterford |
12 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Westmeath |
19 |
0 |
20 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wexford |
0 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Wicklow |
20 |
0 |
21 |
0 |
14 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
819. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether there is a real and urgent need to increase the afforestation grants and second instalment grants on existing forests to counter real and dramatic increases in costs similar to that which occurred in the TAMS situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5925/22]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, Project Woodland was established in February 2021 to ensure that the current licensing backlog is addressed and that a new impetus is brought to woodland creation in Ireland.
Through the Project Woodland process, my Department is proceeding to pay for an ecology report submitted with an afforestation application, when paying for the establishment of the plantation on a pilot basis. This is to support the applicant in the preparation of habitat maps or similar documents when an application is submitted on their behalf, whilst exploring the feasibility of more permanent options.
A national shared vision for the future of Ireland's trees and forests and a new Forestry Strategy are currently being developed by Working Group 2 of Project Woodland. This new Forest Strategy will underpin a new Forestry Programme for the period 2023 - 2027.
An extensive public consultation process on the new strategy has commenced and stakeholders will have an opportunity to raise any issues that they feel need to be addressed with my Department. Work on the next Forestry Programme will include a review of grant rates and my Department will examine current forestry operational costs during that process.
820. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to change the existing ash dieback reconstitution and underplanting scheme and provide new annual premiums to forest owners affected by ash dieback that engage in any new revamped scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5926/22]
View answerSince the first finding of ash dieback disease in Ireland, the Department has provided support to owners of ash plantations impacted by ash dieback disease through the ash dieback reconstitution scheme and more recently the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme introduced in July 2020.
Premium payments are made from the time of establishment of the plantation up to the time the crop became infected and support through the RUS or preceding schemes was sought from my Department. Following approval into the RUS scheme, the re-start of premium payments begins from the date the last premium was paid and up to year 15 or year 20 as appropriate, rather than re-starting from year zero again.
By the end of 2019, well over 1,000 hectares of infected and associated ash plantations had been cleared and replanted with alternative species at a cost to the exchequer of over €7 million.
Additional payments are available for site clearance and for the establishment of a replacement crop. The option not to replant is not possible because of the replanting obligations of the Forestry Act 2014. As advised in Circular 11/2021, older ash plantations (>25 years) also now qualify for consideration under RUS.
The Department has received 512 applications to date under the scheme and has approved 170. Our priority is to continue to work with applicants under the scheme and issue approvals as quickly as possible.
821. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a compensation package is available for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5930/22]
View answerThe Department will make direct contact with the named individual to seek further information in relation to this matter.
822. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has commenced the establishment of the stakeholder forum that will participate in the review of the Common Fisheries Policy; if the makeup of the forum will be a diverse representation of the fishing community and industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5946/22]
View answer823. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the stakeholder forum being established to participate in the European Commission review of the Common Fisheries Policy will commence work without delay and without the necessity of knowing the mechanics of its submission to the Commission (details supplied); if he has developed tentative guidelines for this forum given work has been allowed to commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5947/22]
View answer824. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has set down a commencement date for the stakeholder forum being established to participate in the European Commission review of the Common Fisheries Policy to begin its work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5948/22]
View answer825. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will allow the stakeholder forum being established to participate in the European Commission review of the Common Fisheries Policy to accept submissions from the public in particular from sections of the fisheries industry that may not be represented by members of the forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5949/22]
View answer829. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there has been engagement with the European Commission in relation to the commencement of talks in relation to the Common Fisheries Policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6076/22]
View answer830. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the stakeholders forum being established to participate in the European Commission review of the Common Fisheries Policy will have unlimited access to the research and data held by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas as part of its deliberations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6077/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 822 to 825, inclusive, 829 and 830 together.
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) Regulation (Regulation EU 380/2013) provides that the European Commission will report to the European Parliament and the Council on the functioning of the CFP by the end of 2022.
On 17 December 2021, the European Commission launched an online questionnaire as part of its public consultation on the preparation of this report. The questionnaire has been circulated to Member States and the Advisory Councils and is also publically available so that all stakeholders and members of the public may contribute.
The Commission has indicated that the responses to the questionnaires will provide the basis for the second step in the process, which entails more in-depth discussions at regional level beginning in April.
The Commission intends to close its consultation process with a stakeholder event before the summer of 2022.
I am finalising arrangements for setting up a Review Group of relevant key stakeholders to produce a report to inform Ireland's position during the course of the review. I hope to announce the group in the coming days. This stakeholders' forum will have access to the scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which is published on the ICES website. In addition, the services of the Marine Institute and BIM will be available to the stakeholders' forum, in order to provide the necessary scientific and technical support.
826. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of the 4,245 hectares which licences were given out to for afforestation that were afforested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6000/22]
View answerAfforestation licences have a three-year validity and therefore the 4,200 ha's licensed last year can be planted within that timeframe. I would obviously encourage any landowner to do so immediately and enjoy the significant economic benefits of doing so.
Improved licensing output has a role to play in building confidence among farmers and landowners, and in increasing demand for licences and planting rates. That is why I am attaching such importance to improving output in 2022. We are already making progress. However, we also need to address the broader issue of increasing the level of interest in planting among farmers and landowners. In 2021, there were 502 afforestation licences issued. Those licences would have facilitated the planting of over 4,200 ha, but only 2,000 ha have been planted to date. The conversion rate from licensing to planting, at about 64%, is low. This means that at present, a disproportionate amount of processing effort both by the Department and forestry companies is wasted.
Along with Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has overall responsibility for the sector, I am equally concerned about the decline in the number of applications for planting licences in recent years. This should be of concern to all of us who want to see more trees planted in Ireland. In addition to the progress made already, my department has, through Project Woodland, commissioned reviews of its processes and the regulatory framework with a view to further increasing the efficiency of the licensing system. I am also introducing an amendment to the Forestry Act 2014 to facilitate small scale tree-planting without the need for a licence.
But we also have to get much better at communicating the benefits of forestry to those we are trying to encourage to plant trees. On most farms, planting can comfortably co-exist with livestock enterprises and can significantly increase the net income from the holding.
Farmers who plant trees on a portion of their lands, can continue to engage in their traditional farm enterprises. They can also continue to receive their Basic Payment on planted lands, and will receive grants to cover establishment costs, generous premia over 15 years and substantial tax free income at thinning and harvesting time.
It is critically important that everyone with an interest in developing the sector works closely together to communicate these extraordinarily positive messages to farmers and landowners. If we want to succeed in increasing the level of interest in forestry among those we wish to encourage to plant, we must also work together to communicate this positive message consistently. I look forward to working closely with foresters and farmers to do this.
827. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address concerns raised by an organisation (details supplied); the reason the number of felling licences allocated to the private sector, mainly farmers, is routinely exceeded by those received by Coillte, as Coillte licences increase, afforestation licences also decrease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6028/22]
View answerIn 2021, my Department issued 4,050 licences, a 56% increase on the previous year.
Much of that output has been felling licences, which reflects the number of felling licence applications we receive as opposed to forest roads and afforestation licence applications. To the end of last year, we received 3,601 tree felling licence applications, split between 2,299 Coillte and 1,309 private applications (64%/36% respectively). The greater number of applications received are from Coillte, who is responsible for much of the mature national forest estate and supplies 75% of logs to sawmills. However, in terms of licences delivered, the outputs are much closer, with 53% of felling licences issued to Coillte and 47% to private, proportionally more than that received, compared to Coillte.
Regarding the other licences, 476 afforestation licence applications were received and 502 licences issued. 645 forest road works licence applications were received and 671 were issued. A breakdown of licences received and issued in 2021 is shown in the table below.
|
Received |
Issued |
|
|
Afforestation |
476 |
502 |
|
Roads |
645 |
671 |
|
Private Felling |
1,302 |
1,345 |
|
Coillte Felling |
2,299 |
1,532 |
828. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the agencies under the remit of his Department; the amount that has been spent on all Covid-19-related consultancy contracts by his Department and agencies under his remit in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; the amount paid for each consultant; and the reason for the consultancy. [6031/22]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that my Department engaged one consultant since 2020 in relation to COVID-19, details of which are set out below.
|
Name of COVID-19 related Consultancy Contract |
Reason |
Cost€ |
|
UCC Pilot Study c/o professor John Wenger |
Investigation on air quality measurements for a pilot study in a meat processing plant |
7,500 |
As regards the 12 State Agencies under the aegis of the Department, the placing of such contracts is an operational issue for the agencies themselves and I have referred the question to them for direct reply.
