Matt Carthy
Ceist:
977. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of felling licenses applied for in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and to date in 2020, by quarter and by county; if the applications were successful or unsuccessful; the number of initial applications appealed; if the appeals were successful or unsuccessful; the number of objections to such licences; the county from which the objection was lodged; the county the application was for; the amount of time that passed between the submission of an application and the application being either denied or granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20761/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra
The data requested will take some time to prepare and will be sent to the Deputy separately.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
It should be noted that prior to the commencement of the Forestry Act, 2014 on 24th May, 2017, all tree felling licences were dealt with manually and reliable data are not available for 2015 to early 2017.
I have set out below the data sought and what are being made available here; what will be made available shortly and what cannot be supplied.
1. The number of felling licences applied for in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and to date in 2020, by quarter and by county.
Response
The data sought are complex and not readily available in the format requested. They are currently being compiled and will be forwarded to you as soon as possible.
2. If the applications were successful or unsuccessful.
Response
The number of applications for tree felling licences refused for each year is indicated in the table below. As advised above due to the manual nature of processing prior to 2017, reliable data for years 2015 and 2016 is not available.
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020 to 30th June
|
|
0
|
5
|
2
|
0
|
3. The number of initial applications appealed.
Response
The number of felling licence decisions appealed to the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) is indicated in the table below.
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020 to 30th June
|
|
0
|
7
|
110
|
150
|
4. If the appeals were successful or unsuccessful.
Response
The outcome of the above appeals, to date is indicated in the following table.
|
-
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
|
Decision Upheld
|
4
|
43
|
2
|
|
Decision Varied
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
Decision Cancelled
|
2
|
8
|
0
|
5. The number of objections to such licences; the county from which the objection was lodged; the county the application was for.
Response
The requested information is unavailable. The submissions received on tree felling licences are associated with the licence application and are viewed by the Forestry Inspector when assessing the application, they are not held in a manner to facilitate the compilation of data as requested.
6. The amount of time that passed between the submission of an application and the application being either denied or granted.
Response
Data is currently being compiled and will be forwarded to you as soon as possible along with a response to point 1 above.
