Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 October 2022
420. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actual output versus the phased projected monthly plan for licence and scheme approvals in his Departments plan for the month of September 2022 for each of the following, Coillte felling, private felling, roads, afforestation, ash dieback, the reconstitution and underplanting scheme, respectively in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49387/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra421. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will detail the actual applications versus the phased projected monthly plan for licence and scheme applications in his Departments plan for the month of September 2022 and to date in 2022 for Coillte felling, private felling, roads, afforestation, ash dieback, the reconstitution and underplanting scheme, respectively in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49388/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 420 and 421 together.
There is an overall significant increase accross all licensing categories in the year to date compared with last year. Up to 30th September, we have issued 3,629 licences, just behind the projected target of 3,939, In fact, in the 12 months from September 2021 to the end of September 2022.
My Department has delivered 5,000 licences. In addition, there are 933 approved afforestation contracts with 6,882 ha that have not yet been planted.
In terms of the our targets in the year-to date, we are at 93% of our end to September target for roads, 89% for private felling and over 100% for Coillte felling. Afforestation figures are 68% of year-to-date target. However, since July there have been significant signs of improvement as a result of the new ecologists starting to issue licences, with 97 licences issued in September for example. We are embarking on an intensive effort over the last few weeks and next few weeks to prioritise afforestation with an aim of clearing older files ahead of the new forestry programme.
As regards RUS, while we committed in our Licensing Plan to increasing output this year, the Plan does not include an annual target as many RUS applications are screened in for Appropriate Assessment and are referred to ecology. There are 520 applications currently in the system, of which 207 are referred to Ecology. Any applications that propose replacing the ash crop with conifer species currently require planning permission.
The introduction of the legislation to remove the requirement for planning permission for RUS projects of less than 10ha in size is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I understand that his Department completed the first stage in the Strategic Environment Assessment screening process and notified the prescribed statutory consultees on 22nd September 2022. Those statutory consultees have 4 weeks to respond to the notice. An Appropriate Assessment screening process is also currently being undertaken in parallel by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s Ecological Assessment Unit. I am hopeful that the legislation can be introduced once these processes have been finalised.
The table below outlines applications received and licence output vs target in each of the licensing categories, as well as RUS applications received and issued.
|
To 30th September 2022 |
|||||||
|
Scheme |
Received YTD |
Output YTD |
Target YTD |
Received September |
Output September |
Four week target |
|
|
Applications |
Licences |
Target weekly average for 2022 |
Target to end of September Based on Target Weekely Average |
||||
|
Licences |
|||||||
|
Felling (Private) |
860 |
1,217 |
35 |
1365 |
0 |
147 |
140 |
|
Felling (Coillte) |
1056 |
1,295 |
30 |
1170 |
102 |
132 |
120 |
|
Afforestation |
316 |
534 |
20 |
780 |
31 |
97 |
80 |
|
Roads |
479 |
583 |
16 |
624 |
47 |
50 |
64 |
|
Total (licences) |
2,711 |
3,629 |
101 |
3939 |
180 |
426 |
404 |
|
RUS |
2 |
156 |
- |
- |
0 |
33 |
- |
In the interest of full transparency, details of all licences issued by category are available on my Departments weekly dashboard. This is published on the Departmental website and is made available to all interested parties, as well as being submitted to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine each week.
