Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 February 2022
106. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of planting, felling and road licences issued for forestry operations in each of the past five years; the volume of timber licensed for felling; the number of hectares licensed for planting; the length of road granted permission for construction in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6339/22]
View answerI apologise to the Minister of State, as I got caught out there. I was watching the television screen and two people did not turn up. I thought I had seen Deputy Sherlock here earlier.
The whole issue of forestry is contentious, given the huge delays in the issuing of licences. I am looking for information that would give me an indication of the trends in relation to planting, felling and the provision of roads. There are many complaints that not enough licences are being issued and there are too many delays. We need to get a grip on this. Licensing should not be the controlling factor in either planting or felling.
Forestry licensing output in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was seriously affected by court judgments and their interpretation, which led to a much more onerous appropriate assessment procedure, as well as the need for ecological input for the majority of licences. This was reflected in the decreased number of licences that were issued in 2020. In order to address the delays which had arisen due to these changed circumstances, the Department invested heavily in additional resources and in process improvements to increase licence output. This has had the desired effect, with a marked increase in the number of licences issued last year, at 4,050 forestry licences. This figure included 2,877 felling licences, at a volume of nearly 8.5 million cu. m, which was a record volume for a single year.
Forest roads approvals for 264 km are more than double the target set in the 2019 climate action plan. The detailed statistics that the Deputy has asked for have been provided in writing. We are aware of the need to increase the number of afforestation licences. That is why this is the main focus of our 2022 licence plan, whereby we plan to issue 30% more licences overall than last year. In the case of afforestation, output will be over 100% higher than it was last year.
Of more concern to everybody should be the continued decline in afforestation applications. Reversing this trend requires a concerted effort from everyone who has an interest in seeing more trees planted in Ireland. Next year will be an important year for farmers, with the arrival of a new CAP and new forestry programme. It is important that the benefits of afforestation are well understood by them.
My Department is, as always, ready to play its part and to assist in improving communications. We understand that improved licensing output has a role to play, hence the importance attached to improving licence output in 2022. I reiterate that positive messaging around the benefits of afforestation is the responsibility of all, particularly those who have a direct line of communication to farmers and land owners.
I thank the Minister of State for the reply and I look forward to getting the tables. Planting, or afforestation as the Minister of State is calling it, is hugely important. I would divide it into two sectors, one of which is the production of timber for the commercial sector. The Minister of State might give me an indication of what we would have to plant in order to allow us even to continue with the kind of milling industry that we have, which is so important for our exports.
Added to that is the planting that will be required to reach the targets for broadleaves, most of which do not have the same attraction for the timber milling industry. There are two sectors here and it is not a case of one against the other. It should be one plus the other. I ask the Minister of State to outline what must be done now so that in 30 or 40 years we have the supply to ensure that what is a very valuable and thriving timber industry will continue, while also having enough broadleaf trees to achieve our climate targets.
I agree that it is important to have a multi-functioning forestry strategy and system in Ireland. I reassure the Deputy that every felling licence issued comes with a requirement to reforest the land. It is sometimes said we fell more than we plant but felling licences come with a reforestation commitment so the actual area involved can be a little unclear. However, the Deputy can be assured that we are growing our forestry area year on year.
The commercial timber sector is a vital part of what we do, particularly for rural economies, and that is set to continue and to grow. We have made all sorts of commitments I would like to see come to fruition as regards the use of timber in house-building. The future is bright for that sector but we need to get things right so the system is fully functional for those applicants.
I accept what the Minister of State is saying about felling licences and planting but it is not quite that simple. Some of what is being felled, such as Sitka spruce and so on, is being replaced by broadleaves, which have a longer period of growth and are not the timber sought by most of the commercial mills. As the Minister of State has noted, because of the nature of where forests tend to be in this country, most of them require ecological surveys for felling licences. Taking into account those surveys, how long does it take, on average, from when someone applies for a planting or felling licence until he or she gets the actual licence? What is the average length of time? Is that fairly steady? One of the big problems inhibiting planting is uncertainty. People are not going to do something if the process is as long as a piece of string.
We spent a lot of time discussing how the Department would get to the point of issuing 100 licences per week. Around September, the Department started to hit that target on a regular basis. That was never supposed to be the upper limit but it appears it is, as a target has been set for 5,200-odd licences to be issued this year. The lack of ambition and imagination within the Department is frustrating. We need to do much better than we are currently doing. The Minister of State said she is contacting people who have afforestation licences and are not using them. When will those letters be issued? I have raised this on numerous occasions. It is lunacy that those people have not been engaged with. I was under the impression that, based on what both the Minister of State and the Minister have said, that work commenced some time ago. Is the Minister of State saying that has happened or that it is happening? That is an important point of clarification.
On Deputy Ó Cuív's question, I do not have the specific timelines with regard to licensing applications but it is taking longer than we would like. As a ballpark figure, it takes around ten or 11 months for a licence to be issued after someone applies. Some people get them sooner if everything is straightforward and it takes longer for more complex applications. We are working to bring that time down and we have been bringing it down over the past year or so. It is not quite where we want it to be but we are working hard to get there.
On contacting the applicants, we are talking about approximately 450 individuals with licences to afforest. I do not have the details as to when the letters were sent or will be sent but I will find out and let the Deputy know. As a matter of interest, there are about 4,000 ha associated with those licences and those applications so it is a significant amount of land. Again, we urge people to utilise their licences as soon as they can after they get them.
