Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 May 2023
541. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide figures on how many requests to extend felling licences his Department has received since January 2023; how many of these have been approved and rejected, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22780/23]
View answerUnder Section 17 of the Forestry Act 2014, the Minister may specify the amount of time that a felling licence is valid for. Section 17(3)(a) states that the felling licence shall be valid for such period as the Minister decides, but shall not exceed 10 years. However, this is qualified by Section 17(3)(b) which permits the Minister to extend the duration of the licence for one or more further periods, not exceeding a total of five more years.
Since January, 2023 my Department has received three requests to extend felling licence timelines.
One of these felling licences has been extended at the applicant’s request as the applicant was unable to fell the trees within the original two year time frame.
The other two licences were refused an extension as they had expired.
