Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 4 May 2023
Public Accounts Committee
Appropriation Accounts 2021
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine - 2021 Financial Statements
Fishery Harbour Centres
9:30 am
Mr. Colm Hayes:
There is a particular skill set that we identified as necessary for the efficient conduct of a forestry appeal. It requires expertise in understanding environmental law, expertise in forestry and silvicultural matters and also some expertise in the planning system to understand the wider implications. An appeals committee is generally three individuals. There will almost always be a silvicultural expert, a planning expert and an environmental expert. As I said, they are not bound by their membership if a very specific issue arises, and from time to time they have called in ornithologists, plant botanists and so on. They are not bound by their own expertise in terms of who they bring in.