Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 19 Jun 1996

Vol. 467 No. 2

Written Answers. - Forestry Guidelines.

John Ellis

Ceist:

108 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment whether he received advice from the Environmental Protection Agency prior to the production of the recent guidelines for forestry; and if so, if he will make a copy of this advice available. [12989/96]

Minister for the Environment (Mr. Howlin)

The recent package of measures for improved control of afforestation involved the making of regulations lowering the threshold at which afforestation projects require planning permission and environmental impact assessment and the application of new non-statutory procedures to grant aid forestry development below the threshold.

While there was no specific consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency its views on afforestation generally, as set out in the state of the environment report, were available to my Department. The draft guidelines prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency on the information to be contained in environmental impact statements are of relevance to the preparation of such statements for forestry developments.

I have announced my intention to issue land use policy guidelines on afforestation, in draft form initially to facilitate the wide public consultation. As with the recent draft guidelines on wind farms and telecommunications masts, this consultation will include the Environmental Protection Agency.