Results 161-180 of 753 for speaker:Pippa Hackett

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The tender is out and it will be, I would say, a matter of months. I would like to see it by the end of the year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: That will be part of the regulatory review and we hope to have that complete by the end of the year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I do not think there is any HR problem. I think one of the work streams of Project Woodland is looking at the organisation of the Department and how it works. That will be useful work which might help us make the organisation more efficient and make sure we are doing things correctly----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: If we are looking at organisational structures in the Department, that will come out in the recommendations from the work stream. We will wait and see what that comes up with.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: At the end of last year, when I started my role, the single greatest threat to the forestry sector was the backlog in appeals. I introduced legislation faster than some would have liked and without the pre-legislative scrutiny that some would have liked. That is the legislation to which the Deputy is referring and it has worked incredibly well. The backlogs in appeals are essentially...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: Coillte licences, as I said earlier, are issued in a-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: Yes, and I am sure I get the same representations as many members do. Perhaps I get even more, given the position I hold. I agree that there is an issue with confidence in planting on the part of farmers. There is pressure on farmers, not only because of the licence issues but also because of other land use considerations. The desire to plant forestry is not as strong as it should be. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: We have not initiated any internal reforms. Through Project Woodland we have brought in external expertise to assist with and deliver forestry for Ireland and to work on the backlog, look at the organisational structure and work on a strategy for the future. I am joined by Mr. Eamon O'Doherty, who is our external project manager for Project Woodland. We have a systems analyst in Shelly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I will pass that question to Mr. O'Doherty, who is the project manager.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: That issue has been ongoing for quite a while. It comes down to people changing their minds. They are issued a licence and they can sit on it for three years. An afforestation licence is valid for three years. I even know people who have applied for a licence, who were maybe not that fussed about applying for it. However, the licence was sought and obtained. Sometimes people just change...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I am happy to carry out that analysis. It would find similar reasons to the ones I have highlighted. Again, there is pressure. It could be considered a cultural thing. If there is a sway against forestry, that will influence people. The receipt of a licence does not obligate them to plant. That is the bottom line. I am not saying that it should obligate them; I am saying that is the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: Yes, there has. We are down to about 31 scheduled at the moment. To date in 2021, I think there were only about 80 appeals. I think that is correct but I had the figures in front of me. There was a significant decrease in the number of appeals. It is important that we have that appeals process. Ireland conducts the most public consultation on forestry of any EU country. Some people...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I would expect it was largely due to the legislation. We required, for example, that anyone making an appeal had to supply all the information with an appeal. A person cannot just arrive on the appeals date with stuff under his or her arms. That was one element. An element of a fee was introduced. I would say it was partly the legislation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank Senator Lombard. He is right in terms of afforestation. My Department's officials engage with the foresters, who are, one might say, the middle or intermediary between the grower or the farmer and the licence. It is through the foresters that licences are submitted. The Senator will recall in my opening statement that I mentioned the better quality the applications can be, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The next round of the afforestation programme needs to be up and running and ready for 2023. That does not stop us doing things in the interim. I have indicated that we are looking at amending the native woodland forestry grant for the autumn to try to encourage people to plant, perhaps for specific reasons to repair margins and so forth, where they will need additional funding to do so....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The current ash dieback scheme has been in place for just over a year. It was initiated in June of last year. There have been a number of applications. I believe we had 365 applicants to that scheme in the year. In the last week, we issued a change to the scheme. It was previously limited to plantations of under 25 years of age. It was a year ago that plantations of more than 25 years...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: Concerning ash dieback, as part of the EU Single Market we do not have checks on anything coming in from the EU. Having said that, specific rules are involved. For example, we do not import trees with bark on them from certain areas because of the threat posed by the spruce bark beetle. We were importing trees from parts of Scotland that were deemed free of the spruce bark beetle....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I am not aware that we have directly engaged with the CIF. The cost of timber has risen globally and is not just an Irish issue. The price is at an all-time high worldwide. We have to build far more homes with timber than with concrete and steel for all sorts of reasons. The embodied carbon in such buildings mean this will be very important. The Council for Forest Research and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank Deputy Flaherty. I absolutely accept that the disappointment and frustration he has alluded to exists. I feel it too. We have a small plantation. I suppose I should be thankful that we do not need a licence yet because the plantation is not yet old enough to require thinning, roads or felling. I can certainly relate to the concerns. With regard to afforestation, this is not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: May I bring in Mr. Collins again?