Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I am acutely aware that current delays in issuing licences has led to difficulties for some in the sector.My Department is intensively engaging with all relevant stakeholders on these issues. The current licensing difficulties are as a result of the changes made to internal Appropriate Assessment Procedures (AAP).  These were introduced in response to important Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decisions and their subsequent interpretation by the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) and others.  These findings meant that in order to grant licences which fully meet environmental requirements, fundamental changes to the licensing system were unavoidable.  All licence applications are subject to a statutory public notification system. 

I accept the current changes to procedures are very significant and they have been challenging to implement such is the scope and breadth of them, which has unfortunately meant that there have been delays in issuing licences.  It has taken substantial resources and effort to introduce a robust and workable system, which meets the legislative requirements, and I believe we now have that in place. a majority of my Department's licensing decisions are being confirmed at the Forestry Appeals Committee which gives confidence in these revised procedures.  

My Department has a detailed project plan in place for dealing with the current backlog and new applications, which includes significant investment in extra resources required to deliver the plan. These resources are a combination of additional ecologists, forestry inspectors and administrative staff where required.  

The project plan is a targeted, process-driven approach which prioritise files in a manner which will result in an increased number of licences being issued in the short-term and will deliver a return to expected timelines in the longer term.  Applicants who have or are prepared to submit a Natura Impact Statement, where appropriate, will be prioritised.

A Project Management Board, with a dedicated Project Manager, will oversee and monitor delivery.  There will be a continuous review of the process, in order to effect efficiencies. A communication plan to keep stakeholders fully and regularly informed of progress, with a dedicated central resource to deal with queries, is a key element of the project.  While much of the success of the project plan lies with my Department, stakeholders also need to engage with it.  This will require a commitment from forestry companies to submit only applications which have a realistic chance of being planted, to ensure all applications are of the required standard and quality, and to submit NISs in accordance with the guidance provided. 

In terms of improvements to the current approval system, a comprehensive review which involved extensive stakeholder consultation, was conducted by Mr. Jim Mackinnon, CBE, and his recommendations are outlined in the Mackinnon Report. There is a commitment under the Programme for Government to implement the Mackinnon Report, and to review the forestry appeals process to ensure that it is aligned with other comparable appeals processes. I am considering how best this might be achieved and expect to be announcing some changes in this regard in the coming weeks.  

The Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) is operationally independent of my Department. Additional resources have been assigned to the FAC over past months, including additional administrative resources and personnel with planning expertise, to assist with administering appeals.  Resource needs will continue to be monitored. 

I am more than aware that the current situation is challenging, but it is a temporary disruption which, when resolved, will make for a better, more sustainable and fit-for-purpose forestry licensing system for many years to come. 

Regarding forestry licence statistics, my Department publishes a range of data on its website.  The tables below show the number of applications for afforestation, forest road and tree felling licences received and decided by month in 2018, 2019 and to the end of June 2020. 

Afforestation applications received

-	2018	2019	2020
Jan	149	96	107
Feb	102	92	90
Mar	79	98	61
Apr	74	67	74
May	83	56	68
Jun	75	72	84
Jul	93	85
Aug	83	79
Sep	84	90
Oct	104	103
Nov	89	96
Dec	59	71

Afforestation applications decided

-	2018	2019	2020
Jan	84	63	41
Feb	104	78	58
Mar	109	69	56
Apr	120	87	69
May	67	57	33
Jun	47	32	22
Jul	31	30
Aug	35	60
Sep	71	22
Oct	78	42
Nov	55	26
Dec	54	22

Forest Road Applications Received

-	2018	2019	2020
Jan	42	65	60
Feb	41	57	57
Mar	63	71	35
Apr	61	57	62
May	66	77	48
Jun	58	43	58
Jul	65	51
Aug	61	63
Sep	66	57
Oct	99	52
Nov	71	53
Dec	35	47

Forest Road Applications Decided

-	2018	2019	2020
Jan	35	101	19
Feb	31	59	32
Mar	28	39	40
Apr	21	51	38
May	36	48	37
Jun	37	47	24
Jul	26	48
Aug	60	46
Sep	38	25
Oct	62	24
Nov	53	22
Dec	34	32

Felling Licence Applications Received

-	2018	2019	2020
Jan	205	187	95
Feb	123	198	138
Mar	180	948	106
Apr	164	139	104
May	157	109	109
Jun	1156	80	14
Jul	946	170	0
Aug	158	121	0
Sep	343	104	0
Oct	123	359	0
Nov	140	216	0
Dec	2274	669	0

Felling Licences Decided

-	2018	2019	2020
Jan	232	513	81
Feb	106	1079	177
Mar	203	664	180
Apr	130	568	127
May	212	124	149
Jun	149	272	85
Jul	83	356	0
Aug	704	124	0
Sep	738	156	0
Oct	579	73	0
Nov	386	134	0
Dec	81	117	0

The table below shows the number of licences appealed to the Forestry Appeals Committee in each of the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 (to 24^thJuly) and the number of licences currently awaiting decision.

-	2017	2018	2019	2020
Number of licences appealed	22	150	302	303
Number of licences awaiting decision	1	5	108	274

The table below shows the number of licence decisions upheld, varied or cancelled by the FAC in the same years.

-	2018	2019	2020	Totals
Decision upheld	42	88	2	139
Decision varied	20	6	0	30
Decision cancelled	38	33	0	72