Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I move amendment No. 5:

In page 12, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following:

"PART 3

AMENDMENT OF FORESTRY ACT 2014

Amendment of Forestry Act 2014

8. The Forestry Act 2014 is amended—

(a) in section 2, by the insertion of the following definitions:

“ ‘native tree area’ means land under trees— (a) with— (i) an area of not less than 0.1 hectare and not greater than 1 hectare, or(ii) an area of not less than 0.1 hectare that is not greater than 20 metres in width,and(b) where the trees concerned are native tree species only, of which not more than 25 per cent are Scots pine;‘native tree area grant’, in relation to a native tree area, means any payment made by the Minister for native tree area-related activities, other than a loan;‘native tree species’ means a species of tree specified in the Schedule by its common name in column (1) thereof and by its scientific name in column (2) thereof;‘planting’, in relation to a native tree area, means the conversion of land to a native tree area;”,(b) in section 6, by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (g):“(ga) in order to enable the State to pursue, and achieve, the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient, biodiversity rich and environmentally sustainable economy—(i) undertake, participate in or promote any scheme or project promoting the planting of native tree areas, and(ii) in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions, give approval for and provide native tree area grants, subject to such conditions as may be specified, for the planting of native tree areas,”,(c) in section 22(1), by the substitution of “Subject to sections 7 and 22A,” for “Subject to section 7,”,(d) by the insertion of the following section after section 22 but in Part 5:“22A. (1) The Minister may, for the purpose of enabling the State to pursue, and achieve, the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient, biodiversity rich and environmentally sustainable economy, provide by regulation for a scheme to facilitate the planting of native tree areas.(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may—(a) subject to paragraph (b) and subsection (3), provide for the exemption of the planting of native tree areas, that would, but for such exemption, be subject to the requirements of section 22, from the requirements of that section, (b) prescribe conditions for an exemption under paragraph (a), having regard to—(i) the requirements of the environment and environmental law,(ii) the need for increased planting of native tree species,(iii) public safety,(iv) fire, pest or disease control, and(v) research and such other silvicultural requirements as the Minister considers appropriate, and(c) in relation to the scheme referred to in subsection (1)—(i) prescribe the terms and conditions of that scheme, having regard to such matters referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (v) of paragraph (b) and any other matters as the Minister considers relevant, and(ii) provide for the provision of native tree area grants for the planting of native tree areas.(3) Regulations under subsection (1) shall provide that an exemption from the requirements of section 22 shall be granted only where, on the basis of objective information, the proposed native tree area is not likely to have a significant effect on a European site in view of the site conservation objectives, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects.(4) In this section, ‘European site’ has the same meaning as it has in the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011(S.I. No. 477 of 2011).”,(e) in section 27(1), by the substitution of “in applying for a grant, native tree area grant, registration, licence or approval” for “in applying for a grant, registration,licence or approval”,and(f) by the insertion of the following Schedule after section 35:“SCHEDULESection 2NATIVE TREE SPECIES

Common Name	Scientific Name
Alder	Alnus glutinosa
Strawberry tree	Arbutus unedo
Silver birch	Betula pendula
Downy birch	Betula pubescens
Hazel	Corylus avellana
Ash	Fraxinus excelsior
Holly	Ilex aquifolium
Crab apple	Malus sylvestris
Scots pine	Pinus sylvestris
Black poplar	Populus nigra
Aspen	Populus tremula
Wild cherry	Prunus avium
Bird cherry	Prunus padus
Sessile oak	Quercus petraea
Pedunculate oak	Quercus robur
Goat willow	Salix caprea
Grey willow	Salix cinerea
Bay willow	Salix pentandra
English whitebeam	Sorbus anglica
Whitebeam	Sorbus aria
Rowan	Sorbus aucuparia
Irish whitebeam	Sorbus hibernica
Rock whitebeam	Sorbus rupicola
Yew	Taxus baccata
Wych elm	Ulmus glabra

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I thank members again for their agreement to consider this amendment. It is a sensible approach and the most efficient approach for all of us. It will help to achieve a worthy objective in the most reasonable timeframe we can. The amendment is intended to facilitate the promotion of small-scale planting of native tree species in a nuanced manner. It will not be a requirement to get a licence for an area that is larger than 0.1 ha but not greater than 1 ha and for an area that is not less than 0.1 ha but is also not greater than 20 m in width, and where the trees concerned are native tree species only, of which not more than 25% are Scot's pine.

The key objective behind the amendment is to facilitate the introduction of a scheme that would allow us to incentivise more plantation of native trees. If we have a legal basis, the Department would then have the capacity to introduce a scheme and look at incentivising farmers to do small-scale plantations and riparian zones alongside waterways, which would have an environmental benefit from the point of view of biodiversity and water quality.

The largest size that does not require a licence application at the moment is 0.1 ha. That is small and prohibitive limit that does not allow people to do much. After much consideration of the legislation around this topic and of what would be feasible and possible within the overall framework to facilitate planting without a licence and promote native trees, we are driving legislation to enable us to run a scheme that would encourage the growth of native trees.

This is in addition to, and entirely separate from, the objective to reach our commercial afforestation targets. The target in the climate action plan is to reach 8,000 ha per year of commercial forests over the this decade. That is important. We have had challenges over the past year that we have been working our way out of. We have found ourselves in an unacceptable position in respect of the number of licences being issued and the backlog that is in place. We have been making progress in that regard but more progress is necessary. Thankfully, the dial is now moving in the right direction. We must keep raising the output level and improving the situation during the time ahead.

This measure is separate from those considerations. It is a worthy objective to seek to improve the number of native trees in the countryside through small forest plantations and riparian zones. This is an important amendment that would make the process as administratively smooth as possible, without the necessity for a full-blown licence application for an area smaller than 1 ha.