Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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1117. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way the project manager for the woodland project was selected; the qualifying criteria needed to fill the role; if the new project manager will be focusing on two roles; if not, if they will they have to dedicate all of their time to the new role; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21153/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Project Woodland, under the leadership of Minister of State Hackett who has responsibility for forestry, is an initiative to tackle issues in forestry in Ireland and to promote and encourage woodland creation. It involves four different Working Groups reporting to Minister of State Hackett through a Project Manager and a Project Board. The Project Board is being chaired by the Secretary General.

The Working Groups are working concurrently focusing on different areas. The first one is concentrating on the backlog, the second on a vision for forestry, the third on devising a fit for purpose organisational structure and communication, and the fourth on streamlining the licensing process for the future.

Each Working Group is made up of stakeholders drawn from the Forestry Policy Group and is chaired by an independent, experienced outsider. All Groups have met several times already and the Project Manager has updated the Project Board on the outcomes from those meetings, with good progress being made and plans for meeting the milestones and objectives of the Groups being put in place. These groups are supported, as appropriate, by resources within my Department.

In keeping with the recommendations in the Jo O'Hara report, the Department is recruiting a specific project management expert to assist on the implementation of the project. This person has been recruited externally under an existing contract and is scheduled to start with the Department in early  May. This is a full-time role dedicated entirely to the implementation of Project Woodland with the person being based in my Department.

I am committed, along with Minister Hackett, to the success of Project Woodland and all appropriate resources across the Department will be in place to ensure that it can be delivered for the benefit of the forestry sector and society.