Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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2530. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 2049 of 24 March 2021, if he will respond concisely in relation to the afforestation level he expects his Department will achieve for 2021; if he has a clear position or understanding on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19901/21]

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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2531. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason his Department issued only four afforestation licences for the week ending 15 March 2021 given that 9,600 hectares are stuck in his Department’s system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19902/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2530 and 2531 together.

The Deputy will be aware that as part of the Government’s Climate Action Plan 2019, the annual target of 8,000ha of new afforestation has been set and that is our aim. I would strongly encourage those that have approval to plant afforestation, to arrange planting and once planted, to enjoy the generous annual premiums, available under the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme. However, I note that all forestry schemes are voluntary and therefore the level of planting is dependant on landowners who have received approval already for 4,500 hectares actualising their licences and those landowners who will receive approval this year to proceed to plant also.

The Forestry Dashboard for week ending 19^thMarch, noted that a total of 15 forestry licences issued – one tree felling licence, four afforestation and 10 for forest road works. In addition to this, seven licences that had been remitted to my Department following appeal to the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) were reissued. This was clearly an outlier week relative to every other week to date this year.

The average number of licences issuing year to date is 65 new licences every week. In Quarter 1, this year, afforestation licences are up 18% (in hectares), road licences are up 147% (in km) and felling up 56% (in m³) when compared to same quarter last year.

We are still committed to meeting our target of 4,500 new licences for 2021 and it is essential that we do so. There will be weeks within the year when the figures fluctuate, and it is important to keep the focus on the high-level targets for the year which are needed for the sector to continue to develop.

There are factors that can influence the figures and, in the month of March, the impact on the high-level figures is because Coillte now have almost all their licensing requirements already issued for 2021.

As for private forestry licences, we are continuing to aim to improve output, mindful of the additional resources deployed in recent months. The Working Groups under Project Woodland continue to meet and engagement has been positive. Working Group 4 – Process Improvement will be looking at licensing processes, including the forestry regulation process; environmental reports and assessments; and training courses as part of their remit. I look forward to further updates on the progress of these groups and the Project as a whole.