Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 March 2023
382. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will undertake a review of the Forest Licencing Plan 2022, specifically comparing output per licence and scheme type against targets; if he will publish such a review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14550/23]
View answer383. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will publish the Forest Licencing Plan for 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14551/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 382 and 383 together.
The Department published the Forestry Licensing Plan 2022 in February last year. The plan informed stakeholders of our targets for the delivery of afforestation, felling and forest road licences, and of our commitment to reducing the backlog.
As outlined in our published Forestry Licensing Plan 2022 Quarter 4 update, by the end of 2022, we issued 4,713 licences which was 90% of our expected output for the year. The backlog in licences overall was reduced from 6,000 in August 2021, to 3,700 in January 2022 to 1,983 at the end of 2022. We are issuing more licences than applications received, and this means that the backlog continues to drop over time.
I see great merit in signalling to forest owners, landowners, and the forest sector our intentions as regards licensing which is why I intend to publish a new Forestry Licensing Plan once the new Forestry Programme has been approved at national and EU levels. My Department is actively engaging with the Commission, and is working intensively towards securing full State Aid approval for the Programme as soon as possible.
Statistics on forestry are available on the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine’s website here: www.gov.ie/en/collection/15b56-forest-statistics-and-mapping/#annual-forest-sector-statistics This includes the Forest Statistics Annual Report 2022, Forestry Division’s Monthly reports, and weekly dashboards. Finally, updates on the Forestry Licencing Plan 2022 can be found on the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine’s website here: www.gov.ie/en/publication/21b71-forestry-licence-plan-2022/ This includes a quarter 4 licensing plan update which contains a review of 2022 for the purposes of licencing.
