Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Nolan for raising the issue of forestry licences and for her general support for the forestry sector. I am aware of the delays being experienced by applicants for licences. I would like to give some background to the issues.

All forestry licences issued by my Department are subject to public notification and consultation, and possible third-party appeal. As the planning body for forestry applications, we have an obligation to ensure that all licences are issued in accordance with relevant environmental legislation. The relevant legislation is subject to continual change as result of case law interpretation and our procedures must change in tandem. Furthermore, decisions are subject to appeal to the independent Forestry Appeals Committee. Some appellants have won appeals by challenging the Department's procedures. These cases have required the Department to change procedures involved in assessing forestry licence applications.

The appeals are connected to our appropriate assessment procedure. Article 6.3 of the habitats directive requires that where a plan or project is likely to have a significant effect on a Natura site, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, it must undergo an appropriate assessment of its implications for that Natura site. The forestry inspectorate has been implementing an appropriate assessment procedure established in 2013. However, as the Forestry Appeals Committee has identified issues with the procedure and as recent European case law is interpreted within Irish courts, changes to the procedure have been made. My Department has taken a number of steps to help deal with these changes, including engaging the services of external environmental consultants to assist with the necessary revision of the appropriate assessment and the delivery of training for forestry inspectors. We are also recruiting additional ecologists to join our forestry inspectorate.

A major triage operation is also ongoing to categorise the large number of files currently on hand for consideration by the in-house ecology team. The purpose of this process is to categorise files for further action and to advance each to appropriate assessment determination stage using external ecological consultants.

Forestry licences continue to be issued, albeit at a slower rate than would be expected. However, it has been a good year overall for felling licences and to the end of November my Department had issued just over 4,000 tree felling licences, which is still higher than any previous year and is 10% higher than the total for last year. This week, for instance, we will issue around 100 felling licences.

The Forestry Appeals Committee is an independent body but I understand that it is now starting to hear appeals on cases on my Department's new procedures. We keep the resources of the Forestry Appeals Committee under review in the event that additional resources are needed.

I am fully aware that this situation is causing difficulties, especially for landowners and forestry contractors. I appreciate that whether it is for afforestation, forestry roads, thinning licences or clear-fell, licensing has implications throughout the supply chain. I assure the House that departmental officials are actively working towards alleviating the current temporary disruption. I believe the robust and workable system now being put in place will result in an improved licensing system of benefit to all stakeholders.

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