Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 February 2024
449. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if information will be provided in relation to forestry applications for each of the three districts covering County Cork (details supplied), in tabular form. [7493/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 2020 there has been a significant turnaround in the number of licences issued by my Department, for Cork and for all other counties.
In 2020 following a court ruling in 2019, that increased significantly the ecological input required to process licences, my Department issued 2,592 licences. My Department invested heavily in staff and systems and by 2022 the number of licences issued had risen to 4,713 for that year, over 1,500 more licences than applications received. During this period the information required from the applicant changed and this required my Department to request further information from applicants.
In 2023 with the protracted negotiations with the Commission, this caused a delay to the issuing of some scheme approvals. Felling licences were unaffected and over 1,427 private felling licences issued. There are currently less than 700 private felling licence applications on hand. Despite delays in the introduction of the new Forestry Programme, in 2023 my Department still managed to issue 88 Afforestation licences for an area of 789 hectares, 243 Road licences for 87,469 metres and 203 RUS approvals for an area of 847 hectares.
In addition, to bridge the gap between the old and new programmes, my Department introduced an Interim Afforestation Scheme, an Interim Forest Road Scheme and an interim Ash Dieback Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme via General De Minimis. This ensured that those with valid afforestation licences issued before the end of 2022 could avail of the current planting season under the higher grant and premium rates proposed under the new Programme. Likewise, those with valid road licences and approvals under the Ash Dieback Scheme at the end of 2022 could avail of the higher grants and enhanced payment rates as proposed under the new Programme. A total of 288 approvals totalling 1694 hectares issued under the Afforestation de minimis scheme, while 159 roads covering 70,132 metres and 30 RUS covering 116 hectares also issued under their respective de minimis schemes.
For the new Forestry Programme we are committed to reducing turn around times for all schemes to six months for screen out files and nine months for files that are screened in for appropriate assessment.
We are at the start of the programme and we are committed to reduce Further Information Requests by providing clear guidance and training to Registered Foresters and my Department has recently established an Afforestation Technical Working Group, comprising Registered Foresters and my officials to assist in identifying any technical issues associated with the delivery of the Afforestation Scheme, to ensure standards are applied correctly, and to identify and prioritise training requirements.
We collate information on licences by county and therefore my Department can provide the information requested for County Cork. If the Deputy has queries around individual licences, he should advise the applicant to contact my Department directly.
1.
|
Afforestation approvals January 2021 – February 2024 in Co. Cork |
Average time per licence |
|
119 Licences |
382 days (13 months) |
2.
|
Forest Road approvals January 2021 – February 2024 in Co. Cork |
Average time per licence |
|
129 Licences |
320 days (11 months) |
3.
|
RUS approvals January 2020 – February 2024 in Co. Cork |
Average time per licence |
|
82 Licences |
477 days (16 months) |
4.
|
Private Felling approvals January 2021 – February 2024 in Co. Cork |
Average time per licence |
|
456 Licences |
467 days (15 months) |
5.
|
Year |
RUS applications not decided |
|
2020 |
4 |
|
2021 |
16 |
|
2022 |
4 |
|
2023 |
19 |
|
2024 |
1 |
6.
|
Year |
Scheme |
Percentage that required an FIR |
|
2020 |
Afforestation |
18% |
|
2020 |
Roads |
11% |
|
2020 |
RUS |
0% |
|
2021 |
Afforestation |
27% |
|
2021 |
Roads |
44% |
|
2021 |
RUS |
30% |
|
2022 |
Afforestation |
30% |
|
2022 |
Roads |
50% |
|
2022 |
RUS |
45% |
|
2023 |
Afforestation |
30% |
|
2023 |
Roads |
18% |
|
2023 |
RUS |
86% |
|
2024 |
Afforestation |
0% |
|
2024 |
Roads |
0% |
|
2024 |
RUS |
61% |
|
Year |
Percentage of Private Felling licences that required an FIR |
|
2020 |
22% |
|
2021 |
38% |
|
2022 |
48% |
|
2023 |
44% |
|
Year |
Percentage of Coillte Felling licences that required an FIR |
|
2020 |
No Further Information requests issued |
|
2021 |
18.5% |
|
2022 |
10.7% |
|
2023 |
8.5% |
7.
|
Year |
Scheme |
Percentage of Form 2 applications that had a Remedial letter issued |
|
2020 |
Afforestation |
9% |
|
2020 |
Roads |
30% |
|
2020 |
RUS |
0% |
|
2021 |
Afforestation |
5% |
|
2021 |
Roads |
43% |
|
2021 |
RUS |
0% |
|
2022 |
Afforestation |
20% |
|
2022 |
Roads |
57% |
|
2022 |
RUS |
0% |
|
2023 |
Afforestation |
31% |
|
2023 |
Roads |
52% |
|
2023 |
RUS |
50% |
|
2024 |
Afforestation |
0% |
|
2024 |
Roads |
100% |
|
2024 |
RUS |
0% |
