Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 17:

In page 16, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following:“(3) A licence approval will issue in default of decision by the Minister 12 weeks from receipt of the application. This approval, however, will be waived if there is requirement for an Environmental Impact Statement or Appropriate Assessment.”.

This amendment relates to the applications for licences for felling trees. This is to encourage the efficient processing of the licensing regime. For example, the issuing of aquaculture licences is in massive backlog. The industry is in stasis because licences have been held up for five years in some cases in the Department. While the Minister would not wish that to happen with felling licences, we need to ensure that such delays which could affect the industry and force businesses to close do not happen in the future. This amendment seeks to put the onus on the Department to do its business in a forthright and efficient manner. If it does not, the amendment contains a default clause that will kick in and allow businesses to continue with their work. We feel this is a pragmatic response to a practical issue and hope the Minister will take it on board. We can give other examples of where similar applications have been held up because a Department either has not got the resources or is not processing them.