Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
981. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm that there are no differences in the procedure or process through which private tree felling licences and Coillte tree felling licences are administered by the Forest Service of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28316/23]
View answerAlong with Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has overall responsibility for the sector, it is my aim to deliver a licensing system which meets the needs of all those who apply for forestry licences. This is regardless of whether that application comes from a private individual who wishes to plant trees, a forest owner who wishes to fell their crop, or Coillte who wishes to supply sawmills with product from their estate. Each licence has a value, particularly to the rural economy where the timber is harvested, transported and processed and the Department strives to maintain a healthy balance between Coillte and private applications. Coillte currently supply around 75% of sawlog to sawmills and will, for the foreseeable future, remain an important part of our forestry mix.
The equal treatment of all licence applications is borne out by the figures from 2023 and 2022. To date in 2023, my Department has issued 629 Coillte licences and 773 private felling licences and (45%/55% respectively). As regards the issuing of Coillte versus private felling licences last year, we received 3,293 tree felling licence applications, split between 1,686 Coillte and 1,607 private applications (51%/49% respectively).
