Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2023
753. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how his Department calculates the number of licences required by the forestry industry annually; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39873/23]
View answerThe annual number of forestry licences required by the industry is determined by a number of economic and environmental factors. My Department's targets for afforestation are informed by the Climate Action Plan, the targets for roads by historic and projected activity, and the targets for felling licences by the timber harvest forecasts from the COFORD Roundwood Production Forecast 2016-2035.
The afforestation target of 8,000 hectares per year is set out in the most recent Climate Action Plan. Forestry roads licensing is demand-led, and my Department's targets are informed by historic requirements in the private sector of 125 km per annum, and Coillte average annual road requirements. The issuing of felling licences is also demand-led, and the level of demand is indicated by the number of licence applications made.
My Department has continued to issue felling licences at a high rate. The volume of wood licensed to be felled at the end of 2022 was over 9 million cubic metres, which significantly exceeds the COFORD forecast of 4.5 million cubic metres.
As the new Forestry Programme 2023 -2027 has now been launched, my Department is in a position to issue all licences. It will, in the near future, publish a new Forestry Licensing Plan. This will cover the remainder of 2023, while also indicating plans for 2024. Targets will be identified by, among other things, taking the relevant economic and environmental factors as outlined into consideration.
