Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The reason this issue animates people is that sawmills have fallen silent. I got notice this evening that there are no more logs at the Murray Timber sawmill in Ballon, County Carlow. The staff of this sawmill are now without employment because there just are not any logs at that particular sawmill.

I have listened to the Ministers' contributions. They made the valid point that there is a backlog and that an opportunity to address that backlog is needed. I understand their argument that the introduction of a strict timeline would cause a problem but I have a solution to that problem. I tabled amendment No. 61, which is very simple. It allows 60 days for the processing of an appeal. I have listened to what the Ministers have said, however, and I suggest that they put a commencement order on the provision so that the time limit of 60 days might only come into force in, for argument's sake, 12 months' time, when the backlog will have been dealt with. This would address the concerns we all have as to appeals being dealt with expeditiously but it would also deal with the immediate problem in respect of the backlog.

Deputy Boyd Barrett is absolutely correct that there is an issue with regard to this committee being resourced by the Department. It has not been putting the necessary resources in. People have called this evening for the facts to be made available to them. The response to Parliamentary Question No. 925 of 30 July, tabled in my name, will give them the facts. All of the data are there for people to read. In 2017, two appeals a month were submitted to the appeals office. There were 12 appeals per month in 2018 and 25 appeals per month in 2019. In 2020, there were 43 appeals submitted per month. That does not take away from the point Deputy Boyd Barrett has made, as one appeal currently before the committee was lodged more than two a half years ago and a decision has still not been made on it. That comes down to a lack of resources being put in by the Department. That is why this legislation in itself will not address the problem. It will deal with the anomaly whereby one individual has to consider every single appeal made, which is unsustainable and which is why this legislation needs to be reformed and changed. These changes are in the interests of applicants for licences and, as I said earlier, in the interests of the homeowners, who will have had this cloud hanging over them for three, four or five years. They deserve a quick and definitive decision on appeals.

We also need to ensure that a definitive deadline for the processing of applications will be introduced once the backlog is dealt with. I ask the Minister of State to accept my amendment No. 61, and to put a commencement condition on the provision so that it will not come into force until the backlog is addressed.

I want to make two final points because, sadly, I do not think we will get to the other amendments. The first is that, as Deputy Boyd Barrett has correctly stated, there is a very significant backlog of licence applications to be processed. My amendment No. 28 would help deal with that. At the moment it can take as many as 900 days to get a decision on a licence application.

Deputy Martin Kenny is correct that we need to address the imbalances within the forestry sector, particularly with regard to communities across the country. I represent these communities, as does Deputy Martin Kenny. That is why I tabled some amendments to this Bill, which we will unfortunately not get the opportunity to debate, that would introduce balance and put power back into the hands of those communities. I ask the Ministers not to dismiss those amendments purely because they come from the Opposition. They would introduce some balance in this regard and would bring some needed fairness into the system. I ask the Ministers to consider some of those amendments and not to dismiss them out of hand.

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