Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 March 2022
911. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his departmental officials have held any meetings specifically to address the decline in afforestation applications; if so, the actions that have been taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16620/22]
View answerThere are a variety of reasons why there has been a decline in afforestation rates in recent years. The rate of afforestation is a function of the number of applications for licences received by my Department, the rate at which these are processed and the number of licences which are ultimately converted into planting.
These elements have been impacted by the complexity of the legal and administrative system, judicial decisions, the efficiency of the forestry licensing system, the appetite among landowners to convert land to afforestation usage and, in some areas, complex societal attitudes and responses to afforestation. Both myself and Minister of State Pippa Hackett as well as the Department are very conscious of the need to increase afforestation rates given the target of 8,000 hectares set out in the Climate Action Plan.
The Department has focussed on addressing the licensing issue and on looking to the future of trees and forests in Ireland under the framework of Project Woodland. This Project commenced in March 2021 and has four Working Groups the membership of which is drawn from the Forestry Policy Group. The Forestry Policy Group has a membership of 26 and has a wide range of stakeholders representing the forestry sector, farmers, forest owners, environmental groups, community groups and public bodies. The group meet every two months and the question of afforestation is frequently discussed while the Working Groups have been meeting weekly or fortnightly as the need arises. Both Minister Hackett and I also meet regularly on a bilateral basis with forestry stakeholders.
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 2,016 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
