Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators. While I appreciate the sentiment that fees should not be applied, there is a necessity to strike a balance between recouping some level of the cost while allowing access to the appeals system. This is in line with other planning processes. It is our intention to set reasonable fees that are not prohibitive and will represent only a fraction of the cost of conducting an appeal. The initial submission fee will be set at a very low level so the public also has a chance to engage at that stage, before it even gets to the appeal. People really should be getting involved with making a submission at the start of the process when the notification of the licence is made. There is a month there for decisions to be made. That does happen but not always. Some people just jump straight in at the appeals stage, when the licensing body has not had the chance to understand some of the concerns.I would urge everyone to make a submission if he or she is concerned about any particular forestry licence application. I will not be accepting the amendment but I thank the Senator for his input.