Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Some 4,700 files are in hand, 2,000 of which require an ecology input and assessment. Those require much more work and are where the delays have primarily occurred. The others, which do not require an ecological input, tend to be processed more quickly. As I said, so far this year, 2,300 licences have been issued to date.

The fact the number of licences being issued has not been what is required by the sector has caused many problems and difficulties, and a real crunch now. We are doing all we can in the Department to address it. As I outlined in terms of the additional resources, there are 16 ecologists now compared with two this time last year and that is increasing. The number of additional forestry inspectors coming in to address this is increasing capacity all the time. The immediate priority is getting volume into the system to address the supply challenges and scale that up, and in doing so deal with the backlog.

I cannot say at this point how long dealing with that backlog will take. We are doing all we can to address it and to increase immediate volume supply. Then, into the start of next year, I will be able to give a clear guideline in terms the scaling up of resources and where we are with addressing that backlog.It is certainly my intention and that of the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, to ensure that this backlog is addressed. The immediate priority is the challenging situation in which many in the sector and many sawmills find themselves. We, in the Department, are doing all we can to address that and take it seriously.