Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1989. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the capacity output if the number of licences issued for afforestation, roads and private felling per week by the forest service of his Department as reflected in the weekly dashboard is not capacity output under its current resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15011/21]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1992. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the number of licences issued for afforestation, roads and private felling per week by the forest service of his Department as reflected in the weekly dashboard is the actual capacity output of his Department under its current resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15014/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1989 and 1992 together.

The Department has invested heavily in both ecologist and forestry Inspector resources over the last 18 months in order to meet the needs of the licencing system. We now have 21 full time equivalent  ecologists where previously we had one just 18 months ago. This has resulted in a significant improvement in the licencing output with, for example, almost three million m3 of felling licences issuing from last October to January. Similarly, roads licences have improved considerably compared to the same months last year and 50% of the target for 2021 has already been licenced by mid-March.

We acknowledge that the progress that has been made needs to be improved and sustained. Consequently, we are implementing internal changes to improve output including training, increased assistance to ecologists in the preparation of files, improved IT resources for ecologists and other system improvements. In addition, we are engagement intensively with the sector who also have a role to play by is focusing on improvement in the quality and consistency of applications and subsequent information including NISs.

Through Project Woodland, there is now a dedicated working group around the Backlog and establishing KPIs and a separate working group is charged with examining our internal processes that includes an end-to-end review of systems to ensure that they are made more efficient and are environmentally robust. We are recruiting project management and systems analyst expertise to assist in this process.

Overall, we have set ourselves a target of issuing 4,500 new licences this year which would be a 75% increase on last year, This is a massive undertaking but I believe it is possible to achieve with the collaboration of all.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1990. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 1016 of 10 March 2021, if he is stating that the forestry sector is not a relevant stakeholder with regard to the CAP strategic plan; if the forest sector, which is a section of his Department, is not a part of the CAP process regardless of the way in which it is funded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15012/21]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1993. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 1016 of 10 March 2021, if his attention has been drawn to the fact that he has excluded the entire private forestry sector and appears to be reliant on his officials who have presided over the demise of the current forestry programme under the current CAP in his reference to all relevant stakeholders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15015/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1990 and 1993 together.

As already advised, the forestry programme will be delivered entirely separately from the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) and will be subject to new State Aid rules rather than the requirements of the CSP regulations.

There are a number of stakeholder groups active at the moment inputting to both the CAP, Agri-Food Strategy 2030 and Forestry Programme processes amongst others. All of these processes have both stakeholders inputting directly and public consultation phases, so there is maximum opportunity for interested persons to make their views known.

The interlinkages between these two significant programmes of CAP and forestry is well understood and is, I believe, very much catered for.  The Forestry Policy Group is the primary stakeholder group which will input into forestry policy development for the next Forestry Programme. 

Various stakeholder organisations have representation on both the CAP post-2020 Consultative Committee and the Forestry Policy Group to further enhance coherence between both policy areas.  Similarly, my Department is well coordinated internally to ensure that all of the relevant issues are included in these issues. My Department is engaging bilaterally also with the forestry sector on the CAP for this reason. 

In addition, the newly-launched Project Woodland, which among other things looks to the development of woodland creation into the future, provides a dedicated Working Group for the preparation of a  new Forestry Strategy for Ireland. This Working Group, chaired by Dr. Matt Crowe and with a representative membership of external stakeholders, seeks to develop a shared cross-society vision for the role of trees, woods and forests in Ireland's future. 

I would like to re-iterate my commitment to a strong CAP Strategic Plan and to an ambitious successor to the Forestry Programme, both of which I would see as delivering for farmers, rural communities and for society as a whole.  I also reiterate my commitment to better integration between both of these policies as envisaged in the Programme for Government and would encourage all stakeholders to make their views known on these important processes as they progress.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1991. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 1014 of 10 March 2021, his views on whether not including afforestation initiatives in the pilot agri-environment scheme will further disincentivise afforestation among the farming community; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the GLAS and afforestation schemes were and remain competing schemes and were not complementary to each other and that this fact contributed significantly to the demise of the afforestation programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15013/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Forestry will play an important role in meeting our environmental objectives under the Climate Action Plan and on biodiversity as outlined in the Programme for Government.  It is for this reason the  Department is focusing on afforestation applications.  I am mindful of the seasonality associated with afforestation and  while other forestry licence types will continue to issue, afforestation will be the priority.  

While GLAS does not include forestry actions, parcels not in GLAS can be considered for afforestation.  Similarly, the new Results-based Environment-Agri pilot Project (REAP) will not be a whole-of-farm project. Fields not included in REAP will remain eligible for other uses. REAP will trial the results based model on a national scale with a view to upscaling under the next agri-environment scheme which will follow on from GLAS. Indeed, it is very likely that the REAP scheme will also include tree-planting actions as an option for participating farmers thus emphasising the link between agri-environment measures and tree-planting.

The new CAP Regulation aims to increase the environmental and climate ambition of Member States.  This provides opportunities to support tree planting and farm forestry, as part of a sustainable farming model, and such options will be explored.  Forestry can  provide a complementary and supplementary activity to schemes on farms and my officials are in discussions to ensure that there is integration between the CAP Strategic Plan and the next Forestry Programme.