Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
1270. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action his Department is taking to ensure that there is an increase in the overall number of afforestation licences issued for the coming year, in view of the low number of afforestation licenses issued each month for 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1708/24]
View answer1271. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the monthly targets for private licenses with ecology input, excluding Coillte felling licences, were below target across all months in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1709/24]
View answer1272. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action his Department is taking to ensure that the monthly targets in 2024 for private licenses with ecology input, excluding Coillte felling licences, will be reached each month in view that the number of these licences issued each month in 2023 were well below target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1710/24]
View answer1273. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action his Department is taking to ensure that targets are met each month for the coming year across all areas of forestry licencing in the forestry sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1711/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1270, 1271, 1272 and 1273 together.
The Forestry Programme 2023 -2027 has been approved by Government, and both the afforestation and forest roads schemes are open to applications. Existing applications under the old programme are being migrated over to these scheme as the applicants opt in. My Department began issuing afforestation and roads licences under the new Programme in September 2023, while felling licences continued and continue to issue as normal.
We are now issuing all licences, as well as approvals under other forestry schemes. The new Forestry Licensing Plan has now issued and in 2024, my Department will continue to build on the improvements to its licencing system.
The Forestry Licencing Plan estimates that my Department will issue 4,200 new licences in 2024, and confirms that my Department has capacity to issue sufficient licences to meet its annual target of 8,000 hectares of new forests, but this is entirely contingent on receiving enough applications to achieve this goal.
I am confident that the attractive and increased rates under the new Programme, coupled with 20 year premiums for farmers, will encourage strong uptake of afforestation options. I expect that this will continue in the years ahead as the benefits and complementary nature of forestry to farming is better understood and as communities and public authorities engage with the new Programme.
The new programme will help to support an increase in afforestation. It offers landowners a choice of 12 Forest Types which cover a broad range of planting options. It provides generous incentives to farmers in particular to re-engage with forestry. This can be seen in our increased premia rates ranging from between 46% to 66%, along with a longer premia term of 20 years for farmers, compared to 15 years for non-farmers across most Forest Types.
The Programme also contains a new Native Tree Area Scheme, which builds on a recent amendment to the Forestry Act 2014 that removed the licensing requirement for the planting of native woodland in areas not greater than one hectare. It is our objective to increase and encourage interest in small-scale planting, and I am confident that this change to the Act will remove barriers to such planting.
Over the last three years, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has invested significantly in staff resources. These included investment in additional forestry Inspectors, ecologists, engineers and administrative staff. The Department has also invested in improving IT systems and procedures. Due to continued high output in forestry licencing in 2023, we have seen further reductions in the worklist of forestry licence applications.
In 2023 we issued 474 more licences than applications received and my Department intends to continue to outstrip demand by issuing more licences than it receives in 2024.
In 2023, my Department issued 3,169 forestry licences of all types. This included 1,427 private felling licences,1,411 Coillte felling licences, 243 forest road licences and 88 new afforestation licences (789 Ha’s). The volume of wood licensed to be felled at the end of 2023 is over 8.8 million cubic metres, which significantly exceeds the COFORD forecast of 4.5 million cubic metres. This is the third year in a row that the volume licenced has significantly exceeded the annual forecast volume to be harvested.
In addition to the above, during 2023, my Department processed 99 (847 Ha’s) applications already approved under Forestry Programme 2014 – 2020 that hadn’t commenced planting and have now opted in to the new Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027. Approvals under the new Reconstitution of Ash dieback scheme (RADs) continued with 220 approvals amounting to 902 Ha’s. Under the Native Tree Area scheme there were 31 approvals processed amounting to 34.19 Ha’s.
In addition to the figures outlined above and in recognition of the need for forestry activity to continue, pending the launch of the new Programme, early last year, my Department introduced an Interim Afforestation Scheme and an Interim Forest Road Scheme. In 2023, a total of 288 applications were approved under the Interim Afforestation Scheme, representing 1,750 hectares. Under the interim roads scheme, 159 approvals have issued representing 70,222 metres.
My Department is also continuing the rollout of the remaining forestry schemes announced as part of the new Programme. The Woodland Improvement Scheme was launched on 21st December 2023 and applications are currently being received. Applications also opened on the 03rd January 2024 for the second tranche of the Innovative Forest Technology Scheme: Module 2 - Investment Aid for the Development of the Forest Tree Nursery Sector. In addition, my Department intends to launch the Native Woodland Conservation Scheme for new applications in the coming weeks. Details of all schemes available under the new Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027 are now available on my Department's website gov.ie - Forestry Grants and Schemes (www.gov.ie). The remainder of the Schemes on offer within the Programme will be introduced on a phased basis over the coming weeks and months. A circular will issue to stakeholders informing them of the application process and requirements when each Scheme opens.
The monthly targets for private licences with ecology input, excluding Coillte licences, were in place to monitor how licence applications, requiring specialist ecology input, were progressing. This was on foot of court decisions in 2019 which meant significant changes to the requirements in order to obtain a forestry licences. Now that the delays in issuing licences have been resolved and significantly more resources have been devoted to processing licences, including the employment of significantly more ecologists, this statistic is no longer relevant. My Department is working on producing an updated dashboard that will reflect the work currently being done and this will issue in the coming weeks.
I remain committed to working closely with the forestry sector, to support landowners to plant trees in a manner that will provide lasting climate, biodiversity, wood production, employment and wider societal benefits.
