Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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2543. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a forestry plantation application by a person (details supplied) will be processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20223/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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An application for the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme was submitted on behalf of the person named in January 2020 and has been referred to my Department’s Ecology Unit. The impact of any forestry operations on nearby designated sites and the surrounding area, must be carefully considered before deciding on the application.

The application has been assigned to an ecologist and work on the ecological assessment is underway. Notwithstanding that an Appropriate Assessment Pre-Screening Report was submitted by the registered forester on behalf of the applicant, further information relating to the application may be required to complete the ecological assessment.

If there are no requests for further information, I expect that the ecologist will complete work on the application within the next two months. The application will then be returned to the forestry inspector, who will complete the assessment of the application and if all is in order, issue their recommendations. These recommendations will form part of the decision, which will be sent to the person named and their registered forester, when available.