Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 May 2022
153. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will report on his efforts to minimise the processing times in relation to forestry projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26807/22]
View answerThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine issued 4,050 forestry licences last year, which is an increase of 56% on the number issued in 2020, and met our revised target of 4,000 licences. It is our intention to build on this momentum in 2022.
The Forestry Licensing Plan was published and commenced in January 2022. The Plan sets out a range of forestry priorities set to run for the whole of 2022.
A target of the Plan is Reduce the average Turnaround Times (TATs) for licensing applications. The TAT is calculated as the number of days it takes from the date the application is first advertised to date of decision issued.
In the Quarter 1 Update on the Licensing Plan 2022 the TAT is 14.2 months for afforestation, 14.8 months for felling and 10.6 months for roads.
Many older files are currently screened in and referred to Ecology. The Department has made further improvements to our systems and significantly, we have acquired the services of experienced ecologists who will be entirely focused on afforestation. The total number of full-time equivalent ecologists is now 36. The increased ecology resources are working on the older files, and given that proportionately more files will be processed from this cohort, the TAT will increase in the medium term before it reduces.
The Deputy will also be aware that 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.
This external review is currently being finalised and following extensive stakeholder consultation is expected to be published in the coming weeks.
Along with Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has overall responsbility for the forestry sector, we are committed to reducing these processing times.
