Written answers
Tuesday, 28 July 2020
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Forestry Sector
Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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691. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if all materials, briefings, reports and correspondence relating to his consideration of introducing fees for forestry licences will be provided. [19211/20]
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government makes a number of commitments for the forestry sector in Ireland. These include the alignment of the licensing and appeals processes with other similar processes, a commitment to implement the recommendations of the Mackinnon Review and to ensure the licensing system is sufficiently resourced to clear the existing backlog.
The Deputy will be aware that last year, my Department published the Mackinnon Review of Approval Processes for Afforestation in Ireland. This review was the product of extensive consultation with officials of my Department, industry stakeholders, non-government organisations and others. The review summarises 22 ways forward, one of which was the introduction of fees for forestry licences. That review is already publicly available on my Department’s website.
I am committed to aligning the forestry licensing and appeals processes with that of the national planning and other comparable appeals processes. I am considering how best this may be achieved and expect to be making further announcements in this regard in the coming days.
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