Mr. Mark McAuley:

I am the director of Forest Industries Ireland. Our chairman, Mr. Brian Murphy, sends his apologies as he was called away and was not able to make it this afternoon. I am joined by Mr. Peter O'Brien, chairman of the forestry group within Forest Industries Ireland. I thank the Chairman and members for the opportunity to discuss with them the contribution forestry and timber are making to our economy, society and environment. We would also like to talk about some of the deep challenges the sector is facing.

Forest Industries Ireland is an all-island body constituted within IBEC. Our member companies cover the whole supply chain. There are nurseries that grow the saplings. We have forestry consultants who work with farmers and landowners to plant and manage their forests. We have factories that convert the forest crop into construction timber, panel products, fencing materials, packaging, biofuel and other products.

For many decades, the State and our people have invested in increasing afforestation in Ireland. In return, Ireland has an industry that provides 12,000 jobs throughout our rural communities. The economic contribution is of the order of €2.3 billion per annum. Over the coming years, the private forests planted in the 1980s and 1990s will come to maturity and significantly increase the supply to the market. This is a further opportunity for Ireland.

Today, we work with more than 20,000 farmer forest owners. Most of them made the decision to plant a portion of their farms. They get a steady and reliable income, and it delivers a valuable crop when the forest matures. Increasingly, farmers are interested in the environmental contribution their forests make.

In Ireland, our forests produce timber three times faster than in Scandinavia. The forests are a major carbon sink. Forestry in Ireland is therefore already a big part of this island's fight against climate change. Irish forests are capturing 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. The total carbon store is in excess of 300 million tonnes. This is a testament to the policies of successive Governments to plant trees and create a vibrant forest sector.

All over the world, forests have been identified as the most scalable opportunity to absorb CO₂. In Ireland, we have learned a lot. We are increasing diversity and balance in our forests, providing more leisure and recreational opportunities for our citizens and increasing the provision of one of nature's great renewable raw materials.

We should increasingly seek to use our own timber as a mass-market construction material. Wood can displace carbon-intensive materials in our built environment and is doing so today throughout the world. The world’s tallest timber building was completed in Norway this year. It has 18 storeys of apartments. We should also embrace greater use of timber in Ireland. This would require changes to our building regulations. The Government can take a lead by enabling more timber housing and procuring new, greener schools and civic buildings which use cross-laminated timber as the backbone of their structure.

Ireland’s forest policy is constantly evolving. To continue this into the future, we must plant more and continue to improve forest management. We have done well to climb back from less than 1% forest cover 100 years ago to the 11% of today. Now is the time to redouble our efforts and build a coalition of farmers, foresters and policymakers to drive continued forest development. Farmers are the foundation of future forestry. Industry and the Government must rise to the challenge of rewarding these farmers. Without enthusiastic participation from all, we cannot maintain the positive growth of forestry. We need to support our farmers and rural communities. We want them to feel encouraged to see forestry as a positive option on their farms, both for the sake of the environment and a reliable family income.

We all want to find ways to diversify the forest estate. Already, over 30% of the trees we plant are broadleaf species. We want to increase the creation of native woodland. We can do this in a way that goes hand in hand with the creation of conifer forests and the economic value they contribute. The greatest driver of broadleaf planting in Ireland right now is the planting of broadleaves alongside sitka spruce. This sector is calling for a renewed vision for forestry in Ireland based on economic development, climate change goals, biodiversity and social values. We need stakeholders to come together and agree the way forward, rather than have different groups pulling in different directions. If we get it right, it will work for everyone.

I have started with a positive vision today, but I must tell the committee that there is a deep crisis in the forestry sector right now. Tree planting has been decimated and our sawmills have run out of timber. Jobs have been lost and companies are in danger. We have a minimal winter planting programme and are having to import timber from as far away as Russia in order to supply the market. That is akin to Ireland having to import milk because farmers cannot get a licence to milk their cows. It has been caused by the introduction of a new regime for forestry licensing and a failure of this new process to provide the licences that are needed to plant trees and fell timber. The sector is completely undermined by this. There are simply not enough new licences being delivered by the forest service. There is a huge backlogs in the Department and a further backlog of appealed licences in the forestry appeals committee, FAC. Farmers cannot plant new forestry or get a licence to fell their crop of trees. There are 2,000 applications awaiting approval from the Department and the run-rate of licences being issued is far below what the sector needs. It is absolutely essential that the Department finds a way to quickly deal with the backlog and dramatically increase the supply of licences.

The licensing system needs reform and must be capable of delivering licences within 120 days of application – this is the core industry requirement. The Department has not been able to deliver on its licensing targets and the industry believes the system needs complete reform if it is ever going to work. The industry is 100% reliant on a functioning licensing system without which we are at nothing and no Government ambitions in respect of forestry and timber will ever be delivered. People have lost their jobs and companies are in danger.

The problem with licensing is exacerbated by a further backlog of500projects under appeal Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act sets out a path to reform the FAC and deliver much greater output. I thank Members of the Oireachtas, including those here today, for the overwhelming support that this legislation received on its path through the Houses. Unfortunately, we are still awaiting proper implementation of the reforms that were enabled by the legislation. We discussed this issue in detail last week with the Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity, Senator Hackett, and her officials, and we remain unconvinced that the FAC will be able to deliver if it keeps going the way it is going because we will be waiting for many months for most of these appeals to be decided. The fact is that 1 million tonnes of timber are stuck and this is where our planting projects have stalled.

The damage is enormous and is getting worse every time. The FAC must be reformed in line with the legislation and start dealing with appeals at the rate of 100 plus per month. Since the start of the year the committee has only processed circa 26 projects per month. The long delays at the FAC, coupled with inadequate licence approvals in the first instance, have led to our mills now running out of timber and our afforestation programme being on its knees. Forestry companies, contractors and hauliers have lost their jobs and the machines have been sold off. Irreparable damage is being caused to the sector. The system is broken and the Department needs to recognise this. Urgent action is needed now.

I underline three requirements. The FAC needs to implement the Forestry Act, work in multiple divisions, deal with appeals jointly and be resourced efficiently. It can be rigorous and fair to all parties and, at the same time, be much more productive. The Minister needs to stay close to this process and to ensure that it happens. The FAC holds 1 million tonnes of timber and we need to get it out of there.

The speed, resources and capability within the Department also needs to improve urgently to increase the rate at which forest licences are being approved to multiples of the current level. Targets continue to be missed. The backlog in ecology in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has increased to 2,000 files. The system is in failure and this must be recognised.

In the longer term, the regulatory system must be revised and we should move away from a licensing model to a regulatory model that does not require a fresh licence for every activity. This is unnecessary and is not replicated in other countries. We need a more sensible approach that can be both rigorous and efficient. Again, the Department needs to accept the need for reform and begin the process.

In conclusion, we are in a crisis right now and it is one of our own making. We can, however, recover once the problem is fixed. Then the forestry section will be in a fantastic position to deliver for our farmers and for rural Ireland. We will grow and create many more jobs all around the country, all the while delivering for our environment and providing a great recreation for our people. We can achieve this if the current crisis in licensing is resolved quickly and the industry can return to normal operations. Failing this we are going over a cliff. It is a crisis that can still be solved and a disaster that can be avoided. I thank the committee.