Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 March 2022
839. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actions taken by his Department in each of the years 2016 to 2021 to address the decline in afforestation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15860/22]
View answerThere are a variety of reasons why there has been a gradual decline in afforestation rates even before this current Forestry Programme has started in 2015 and my Department is very conscious of the afforestation targets set out in the Climate Action Plan.
During the last number of years, my Department has been addressing several barriers which contributed to decreasing afforestation rates. The Forestry Programme 2014-42020 (extended to end 2022) offers a wide range of generous grants and 15 annual premiums that makes forestry an excellent land use option which can complement existing farming enterprises and throughout the years of the Programme efforts have been made to encourage landowners to plant.
A mid-term review of the Forestry Programme was completed in 2018. The review included measures aimed at increasing afforestation rates including an increase in grant and premium rates and the commitment to explore the potential of a forestry fund for establishing native woodlands. This commitment resulted in the Woodland Environmental Fund which facilitates the planting of more native woodlands within Ireland by providing an access point for businesses to part fund the establishment of these forests.
In addition to supporting the planting of forests on private lands, the Creation of Woodland on Public Lands Scheme was launched in August 2020 to fund the creation of new native woodlands on publicly owned lands. In accordance with the Programme for Government objectives,
The Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 was enacted on 5th October 2020. This legislation was introduced to give the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) greater flexibility to manage its workload, and to address the backlog of forestry licences held up in the appeals process. This has lead to an impressive increase in efficiency by the FAC with the number of decisions currently outstanding at 27, as compared to the approximately 1,000 cases on hand when the legislation was being introduced.
We are also actively addressing the backlog of forestry licence and looking to the future of trees and forests in Ireland under the framework of Project Woodland, which commenced in March 2021.
The licensing situation is improving as a result of increased investment in resources and a continual improvement in processes. We issued 4,050 licences in 2021 and intend to increase this to 5,250 in 2022. We aim to more than double the number of afforestation licences to 1,040 and this should have the effect of encouraging confidence in the system. Of course last year 502 afforestation licences issued for 4,246 hectares, but only 2016 hectares were planted. This low conversion rate is a challenge. There are currently 5,200 ha in the system, which have a valid approval, but have not gone ahead to planting. We have written to applicants with unused licences to remind them that their licence is still valid and to encourage them to consider using them before their approval lapses.
Communication and positive messaging about the benefits of afforestation is crucial. On most farms, planting can comfortably co-exist with livestock enterprises and can significantly increase the net income from the holding. We must work together to communicate this positive message consistently.
There is also an opportunity to contribute to the shared national vision for forestry by mean of the online public consultation which was launched on 16th March, 2022.
