Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021
2455. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider fast-tracking afforestation projects through the licensing system which are screened out by forestry companies and their ecologists. [18570/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra2456. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of forestry projects and respective area of land in hectares which are screened out by the appropriate assessment process that have received approval in 2021. [18571/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra2457. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the average time it took to approve screened out projects. [18572/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra2458. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of screened out projects that were referred to the ecology section by the district forestry inspectors. [18573/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra2459. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there is a mechanism for highlighting screened out projects to ecology in order that they can be fast-tracked and be with files that need more ecological attention and-or a site visit. [18574/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra2460. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actual processing time for files with Natura impact statements submitted over the past six to nine months. [18575/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 2455 to 2460, inclusive, together.
The Deputy will be aware that under the Appropriate Assessment procedures in place for assessing forestry licence applications, some are “screened in” for referral to the Ecology Unit and others are “screened out”, which means they may be decided upon by the Forestry Inspector without ecological input. Screened out applications, by their nature progress through the application system more quickly than screened in applications, therefore do not require “fast-tracking”.
The Department has approved 84 afforestation applications that were screened out, comprising 576.81 hectares, from January to March this year. In 2020, for all afforestation applications decided in that year that were not referred to the Department’s Ecology Unit, the average time from application to decision was 4.9 months. Once an application has been screened out by a Forestry District Inspector, it is in the main, not referred to my Department’s Ecology Unit. Therefore, there is no reason to provide a mechanism to highlight such projects with the Ecology Unit. In the past six months, where an applicant decided to supply a Natura Impact Statement (NIS), in support of the afforestation application, those applications took on average, 83 days from receipt of the NIS to a decision issuing.
I am aware of the issues facing the forestry sector and considerable efforts have been made to address them. Additional resources have been recruited and training, information and guidance has been provided to both Departmental staff and registered foresters and, as a result, we have seen gains in terms of output.
We know, however, that there is room for further improvement and the introduction of Project Woodland, recently launched by Minister of State Senator Pippa Hackett, who has responsibility for forestry, is our strategy for resolving the licensing issues. This new structure aims to ensure that the current backlog is addressed and that more efficient and effective processes are introduced. It is a task-driven process, with clear deliverable and milestones.
I remain hopeful and confident that the changes envisaged under Project Woodland will bear fruit, particularly to give confidence to all applicants that they can receive a timely decision on their forestry licence application.
