Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 February 2022
465. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason more felling licences are being issued to Coillte than to the private sector since the start of 2022 despite the significant backlog of private licences awaiting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10649/22]
View answerThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine issued 2,877 felling licences last year which represented nearly 8.7 million cubic metres of timber. This was the highest ever output in volume terms in a single year.
There was an almost even split of Coillte and private felling licences last year with Coillte receiving 53% and the other 47% going to the private sector.
This year we have committed to increasing our output to 3,360 felling licences, broken down between 1,530 Coillte felling licences and 1,830 private felling licences and we intend to deliver on this commitment. This is a 36% increase in private felling licences on 2021 and all details are outlined in our Licensing Plan, found at gov.ie - Forestry Licensing Plan 2022 (www.gov.ie).
