Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
1153. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will make a statement on recommendation No. 120 of the Report of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss; his plans to give effect to the recommendation; and if he has made representations to Coillte in respect of the sale of forestry land to investment funds. [18088/23]
View answer1154. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will make a statement on recommendation No. 122 of the Report of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss; and his plans to give effect to the recommendation. [18089/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1153 and 1154 together.
I note the report of the Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss published on 5th April last and in particular, the recommendations in relation to Forestry.
I commend the members of the Assembly on its work.
In relation to recommendations 120, the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies requires that Government Departments should ensure that they have written oversight agreements with State bodies under their aegis which clearly define the terms of the State body’s relationship with the relevant Minister/parent Department. For commercial State bodies the oversight agreement between the relevant Minister/parent Department and the State body is the Shareholder Expectation Letter.
A Shareholder letter of Expectation issued to Coillte on 2nd June 2022. It is published on my Department's website and available at the following link gov.ie - Forestry policy and strategy (www.gov.ie). This letter clearly outlines my Department's requirements from Coillte in relation to environmental and social policies. In relation to biodiversity the letter sets out the following: “In addition to the extensive carbon capture that will result from the creation of new forests and the management of Coillte’s existing forests, Coillte should continue with its long-term commitment to biodiversity and to the planned increase in the area of its forest estate being managed primarily for nature.”
In relation to the part of your question regarding the sale of forestry land by Coillte to investment funds, as I have stated previously in relation to Coillte’s involvement with the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund (ISFF), Coillte will not sell any existing publicly owned forests to the fund, nor will Coillte seek to purchase any other public land on behalf of the fund. Coillte is not currently an investor in the fund but is providing services in terms of land acquisition, forestry establishment and advice on forestry investment to the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund as one of a number of models it intends to deploy in order to enable afforestation at a meaningful scale.
As regards recommendation 122 comprehensive public and stakeholder consultation has taken place over the past year on the development of a national Forest Strategy, which resulted in the publication of a Shared National Vision for the role of trees and forests in Ireland , together with a new draft Strategy which sets out a clear set of objectives for the role of trees and forests in Ireland between now and 2030.
The draft Forest Strategy was published on the 18 October 2022 for a six-week period of public consultation. Forestry stakeholders and the public were encouraged to take part in this significant consultation process and over 130 submissions were received. The feedback and engagement is being considered and the draft strategy is currently being finalised. The Strategy’s overarching objectives are rooted in the three pillars of sustainability - People, Planet and Prosperity.
The Forestry Programme 2023-2027, which replaces the previous Forestry Programme of 2014-2020 (extended to 2022), was created in alignment with Ireland’s new draft Forest Strategy and as such, is designed to provide lasting benefits for many key areas including climate change, biodiversity, wood production, employment alongside enhancing societal benefits.
The Government has committed €1.3 billion to the Programme, making it the largest funded Forestry Programme ever introduced by any Government here, and it has been designed to have an emphasis on close to nature forestry and will include a small-scale native woodland scheme and a greater emphasis on new planting comprising of native species.
All afforestation and felling activities require a licence from my Department and each application is screened for appropriate assessment under Article 6.3 of the Habitats Directive. If screened in, a 30 day period of public consultation is required following completion and publication of the Appropriate Assessment Report. When this consultation period closes and my Department has considered any submissions received a decision on the application made.
The Forestry Programme 2023-2027 will form part of the Forest Strategy Implementation Plan which will be monitored to ensure delivery in accordance with the objectives of the Forest Strategy.
My Department will consider the recommendations from the Report further and looks forward to participating in any future implementation process.
