Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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1116. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a submission made in August 2012 by the NPWS (details supplied) regarding forestry licence applications was acted upon once received by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21152/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I understand that the submission referred to from NPWS in 2012 was made to a sub-group of the COFORD Council called the COFORD Council Land Available Working Group.  The purpose of the submission was to highlight to participants in the group the obligations under EU and national law when considering afforestation.

The paper usefully documented requirements in 2012. There was, and continues to be, ongoing engagement between the Department and the NPWS around environmental protection, especially in relation to requirements around the Habitats and Birds Directives and how to incorporate these into forestry licensing. The paper in itself did not provide new information to the Department.