Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine launches Report entitled ‘Issues impacting the Forestry Sector in Ireland’

The Forestry sector is an integral part of rural communities around Ireland and helps rural life thrive. It supports local economies, provides employment opportunities and public recreational amenities. Currently it provides in the region of 12,000 jobs in rural communities. There has been a steady decline and pressure in the Sector due a rapidly changing environment characterised, not least, by significant changes in the licensing system.

Committee Chair, Jackie Cahill, TD, explained: “Publication of the McKinnon Report and the commitments in the Programme for Government signalled a strategic approach to reform and support this Sector. Forestry is a national resource to be proud of and needs to be nurtured. The Committee believed that it was necessary to examine the challenges facing the Forestry Sector to identify key issues.”

The Forestry Sector is about livelihood, legacy and achieving long-term global goals. It is an important part of Ireland’s economy and provides opportunity in rural Ireland. Clearly, the Sector also has a key role to play in Ireland’s climate action plan. Trees store carbon, clean the air, mitigate water movements, prevent soil erosion, provide habitats as well as providing a great public amenity for recreational use.

Chair Cahill added: “The Committee welcomes the recent establishment of the Forestry Policy Group which met for the first time on 26 November 2020. The Group comprises of Department officials and a range of stakeholders. It is essential that the Department and stakeholders work together to develop short-term and long-term strategies for Ireland’s Forestry Sector in order to sustain an economic valuable industry and to achieve climate action targets.”

Recommendations, observations and conclusions as outlined in the report are as follows:

• In its engagement with Minister of State Hackett, the Committee recommended the appointment of an individual to oversee the implementation of each of the MacKinnon Report recommendations.
• The Committee recommends that an agreed timeframe should be introduced into the licensing application and appeals process to provide certainty to applicants. The Committee supports the recommendation of the Mackinnon Report to develop a Customer Service Charter which could assist in building confidence in the system for applicants. The Committee recommends that the Department and stakeholders have quarterly meetings to monitor the implementation of a Charter of Rights and a timeframe agreed by the Department and stakeholders.
• The Committee recommends that additional resources be allocated as soon as practicable to deal with the backlog of licensing applications and appeals.
• The Department needs to ensure that the licensing system is accessible and without delays for current stakeholders and new entrants if the sector is going to meet the required target of 8,000 hectares annual afforestation set out in the Climate Action Plan.
• The Committee also supports the recommendations that road and thinning permits should be included as a condition in afforestation licenses rather than individual applications. (The Mackinnon Report recommended the introduction of a single consent covering planting, road construction, management and felling.)
• In relation to Ash dieback, the Committee supports research for the development of resistant species and innovation in the treatment of existing diseased plantations. The Committee would also welcome quarterly reporting on the engagement of the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme. The Committee recommends that additional financial resources are put in place such as a grant to cover some financial loss as well as clearing affected plantations and that owners who replant their site be able to draw a premium for 15 years.
• The Committee heard that ultimate responsibility with regard to the import of Ash Dieback to Ireland lay with the DAFM, and would recommend that the department compile a detailed report on the origins of Ash Dieback in Ireland and whether there are lessons to be learned that would assist with preventing future disease importation.
• The Committee recognises the need for all stakeholders to work together effectively and, in this regard, welcomes the recent formation of the Forestry Policy Group and looks forward to early engagement with this Policy Group.
• The Committee believe that the Department’s forestry policy should include a strategy for the reconstitution of Elm and provide dedicated support to ongoing research on the matter at Teagasc.
• Recognising that native broadleaf species provide greater social, cultural, as well as enhanced environmental benefits than non-native species, the Committee call on the Department to deliver a specific strategy to increase the proportion of native broadleaf afforestation.
• The pandemic has highlighted the recreational importance of forestry as the public increased their use of public forests and trails to be closer to nature. This has been an essential resource to the public and is important for Irish citizens’ physical health as well as mental health. This is a resource that needs to be supported in its development and nurtured for future generations.
• The Committee is concerned with the dramatic decrease in the number of farmers involved in afforestation given the crucial role they must play if forestry policy is to be successful. The Committee believes that to provide sufficient encouragement for farmers to enter, re-enter and remain within a forestry programme it must have sufficient supports in place. These supports should include economic benefits as well as assurances as to fair engagement with the licensing system.

Chair Cahill concluded: “The Committee’s Report and Recommendations should be an input to the deliberations of this new Forestry Policy Group, and the Committee looks forward to engaging with the Group and the newly appointed advisor on the implementation of the Mackinnon Report, Jo O’Hara.”

For more information about the work of the Committee on Agriculture and the Marine, and to read the report, see under 'Recent Reports' on the Committee webpage