Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett):

On Deputy Ó Cuív's question, I do not have the specific timelines with regard to licensing applications but it is taking longer than we would like. As a ballpark figure, it takes around ten or 11 months for a licence to be issued after someone applies. Some people get them sooner if everything is straightforward and it takes longer for more complex applications. We are working to bring that time down and we have been bringing it down over the past year or so. It is not quite where we want it to be but we are working hard to get there.

On contacting the applicants, we are talking about approximately 450 individuals with licences to afforest. I do not have the details as to when the letters were sent or will be sent but I will find out and let the Deputy know. As a matter of interest, there are about 4,000 ha associated with those licences and those applications so it is a significant amount of land. Again, we urge people to utilise their licences as soon as they can after they get them.

See this speech in context