Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 December 2018
477. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the protection of a location (details supplied) in County Wexford as a site of natural biodiversity; if native tree species will be considered for planting in clearfelled areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53024/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraForestry in Ireland operates within a legal and regulatory framework. This is necessary in order to protect forests and also to ensure that forestry operations and activities are carried out in compliance with the principles of sustainable forest management. A felling licence granted by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine provides authority under the Forestry Act 2014 to fell or otherwise remove a tree or trees and to thin a forest for silvicultural reasons
In recent years two General Felling Licences (under the Forestry Act, 1946) were issued to Coillte in respect of the location mentioned:
- WX01-FL0001 (3.68 ha) – issued 30th September 2017
- WX01-FL0005 (6.66 ha) – issued 18th March 2016
Both of these areas had suffered wind-blow damage, which precipitated the need to fell the trees on these areas.
The choice of species to be replanted, and submitted on a felling licence application, is a matter for the applicant in the first place. In this case the applicant is Coillte which, as a commercial State Body, has responsibility for the management of the forest estate and therefore such decisions are an operational matter for the company.
In considering felling licence applications, my Department ensures that the species chosen are compatible with the local conditions. In this case the diverse range of species chosen are tolerant of the local conditions at Tara Hill and include a significant proportion of native species.
It is worth noting that replanting of clear-felled land must be carried out in accordance with a suite of strict environmental and silvicultural guidelines.
