Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming before us today. This issue is exasperating, to say the least, and we are under severe pressure to resolve it, as politicians on the ground. It does not look like it is being resolved and it is costing the industry and costing many people jobs. The pressure is unbelievable.

I have a number of questions. I hope I do not read them too quickly but I would appreciate answers because it is the people on the ground who are speaking. The system must guarantee that a farmer has to wait no longer than four months for a decision on a forestry licence, as set out in the Forestry Act 2014 at section 18(1). When is this going to happen?

Second, forest road construction and thinning operations should be removed from the licensing system and approved under a forest management plan. Why can this not happen?

Why is Ireland such an outlier when it comes to licensing of forestry? There is no other country in Europe which is experiencing a similar disaster to the one which the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has inflicted upon the forestry and timber industries in Ireland. Have the Ministers and their officials looked overseas to see what can be learned from forestry regimes elsewhere?

Members of the forestry and timber industries are rightly in despair when they see what has happened to their sector and how the Department has handled the crisis so far. They have major concerns over the prospect of Project Woodland succeeding unless there is a significant move towards regulatory reform. Is regulatory reform a feature of the work being carried out under Project Woodland? If not, will it be included?

The Department has set a target of 4,500 forestry licences for 2021, a target which the industry has argued is totally insufficient in the first instance. We were recently told by the Minister, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, that only 1,080 licences have issued so far this year yet the Department maintains it will reach the 4,500 target. With reference to specific detail, how is the Department going to increase its input in the coming months to reach that target? The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, said he expects the output for April and May to be significantly up and for this to continue in subsequent months. What specific detail is that statement based on and what is going to change to allow for an increase in licensing output?

What communication, if any, has the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine had with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in regard to the impact the forestry licensing crisis is having on the housing crisis? Has the Department, for example, raised concerns in regard to the country being left short of the timber needed for house building?

What communication, if any, has the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications had with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine regarding the forestry licensing collapse? Has it, for example, raised the collapse of afforestation in the context of Ireland not reaching its climate targets?

I hope I did not read the questions too quickly. If I did, I can go back over them again.