Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 September 2023
449. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department is accommodating all forestry stakeholder groups equally in terms of facilitating meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41474/23]
View answerLast year, my Department published for the first time a Shared National Vision for Trees, Woods and Forests in Ireland until 2050 which was informed by a series of extensive engagement and consultation. One particular strand of the consultation included bilateral meetings with key Forestry stakeholders. This Vision then informed a new Forestry Strategy for Ireland, which was developed via Working Group 2 of Project Woodland.
In consideration of this, a Forest Strategy Implementation Plan was also developed to facilitate the initial steps in the implementation of the Forest Strategy. This Plan includes the Forestry Programme for the period 2023-2027, which will be the main implementation vehicle for the Forest Strategy in the immediate to short term.
Bilateral meetings took place with members of the Forestry Policy Group (FPG) and details of the Programme development were presented to all members of the FPG in July 2022. I am content that the FPG is fully representative of all relevant stakeholders from across the forestry sector.
In addition, my Department has more recently held a number of bilateral meetings with established organisations from the forestry and farming sectors, to update them on the launch of the Forestry Programme.
Therefore, I am satisfied that members of all relevant stakeholder groups have met with my Department through the important work of Project Woodland and contributed equally to the development of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027.
My Colleague, Minister of State Hackett also intends to form a Forestry Programme Consultative Committee (FPCC) within the coming weeks. The FPCC members will be selected from a broad range of relevant stakeholders, acknowledging that it is essential that on-going stakeholder engagement is continued to ensure a successful outcome for the Forest Strategy implementation Plan and the Forestry Programme 2023-2027.
