Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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2454. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 250 of 25 March 2021, if the case of a person (details supplied) will be examined; his views on whether the timeline given by his Department in relation to the matter of two-to-three months is a misleading timeline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18539/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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In my previous response to the Deputy on this matter, I noted that an ecologist will examine the application within two to three months of receipt of a Natura Impact Statement (NIS). I further noted that a decision would issue once the full assessment of the application is complete. This does not necessarily mean that the decision will issue within two to three months of receipt of a NIS, merely that the ecological assessment will normally be completed in that time. The NIS and/or the ecological assessment may occasionally raise further queries, which must be resolved before a final decision on the application will issue.

I would like to take this opportunity to set out for the Deputy the sequence of events in relation to the application noted in the details supplied. The application was first submitted to my Department in November 2017 and referred to the local authority. The applicant and the Registered Forester concerned were requested to provide further information, to which no response was received and the application was withdrawn. Upon request by the forester, in August, 2018 the application was reinstated, referred to my Department’s Archaeology Unit and to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). A report was received from the Department’s Archaeologist in April 2019. At the same time, a reminder was sent to the NPWS, but their response was not received until late June 2019. The application was referred to my Department’s Ecology Unit in July 2019.

The Ecologist determined that a Natura Impact Statement (NIS) would be required and this was requested in September 2019. The NIS was not received until December 2020 and was immediately referred again to my Department’s Ecology Unit. The ecological assessment was completed in February 2021, well within the two to three months timeframe given in the response to the Dáil Question to which the Deputy refers. The application was returned to the Forestry District Inspector (DI). However, a matter arose during the DI’s final assessment of the application that required the referral of the application to An Taisce. A final decision was made on the application, which was issued to the applicant and their Registered Forester in April 2021.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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2455. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider fast-tracking afforestation projects through the licensing system which are screened out by forestry companies and their ecologists. [18570/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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2456. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of forestry projects and respective area of land in hectares which are screened out by the appropriate assessment process that have received approval in 2021. [18571/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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2457. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the average time it took to approve screened out projects. [18572/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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2458. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of screened out projects that were referred to the ecology section by the district forestry inspectors. [18573/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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2459. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there is a mechanism for highlighting screened out projects to ecology in order that they can be fast-tracked and be with files that need more ecological attention and-or a site visit. [18574/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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2460. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actual processing time for files with Natura impact statements submitted over the past six to nine months. [18575/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2455 to 2460, inclusive, together.

The Deputy will be aware that under the Appropriate Assessment procedures in place for assessing forestry licence applications, some are “screened in” for referral to the Ecology Unit and others are “screened out”, which means they may be decided upon by the Forestry Inspector without ecological input. Screened out applications, by their nature progress through the application system more quickly than screened in applications, therefore do not require “fast-tracking”.

The Department has approved 84 afforestation applications that were screened out, comprising 576.81 hectares, from January to March this year. In 2020, for all afforestation applications decided in that year that were not referred to the Department’s Ecology Unit, the average time from application to decision was 4.9 months. Once an application has been screened out by a Forestry District Inspector, it is in the main, not referred to my Department’s Ecology Unit. Therefore, there is no reason to provide a mechanism to highlight such projects with the Ecology Unit. In the past six months, where an applicant decided to supply a Natura Impact Statement (NIS), in support of the afforestation application, those applications took on average, 83 days from receipt of the NIS to a decision issuing.

I am aware of the issues facing the forestry sector and considerable efforts have been made to address them. Additional resources have been recruited and training, information and guidance has been provided to both Departmental staff and registered foresters and, as a result, we have seen gains in terms of output.

We know, however, that there is room for further improvement and the introduction of Project Woodland, recently launched by Minister of State Senator Pippa Hackett, who has responsibility for forestry, is our strategy for resolving the licensing issues. This new structure aims to ensure that the current backlog is addressed and that more efficient and effective processes are introduced. It is a task-driven process, with clear deliverable and milestones.

I remain hopeful and confident that the changes envisaged under Project Woodland will bear fruit, particularly to give confidence to all applicants that they can receive a timely decision on their forestry licence application.