Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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851. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of and position regarding the forestry licensing log-jam; the number of licences which have been granted; the number which are left to process; the length of time it is estimated it will take to clear the queue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46320/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that certain High Court decisions have changed the processing of forestry licence applications, resulting in approx. 80% of applications being screened in for a comprehensive ecological assessment, a situation for which the Department was not prepared.

In addition, the number of appeals increased from 21 in 2017 to a peak of 582 in 2020. This combination of events led to a backlog of licence applications. I am very aware of the obligations my Department has towards applicants, but also to ensure that systems and processes are compliant with legal framework.

In respect of licensing, resources have been significantly increased; ecologists have gone from one in 2018 to 27 currently and 21 additional forestry inspectors have been deployed. The number of licences issued had increased through May and into early July. However, there was a significant fall off in licences issued in July and August, due to a new legal requirement for an additional 30-day public consultation.

Applications in the system, received before 11^thJanuary this year when the Forestry Licence Viewer (FLV) was introduced, had to be manually examined and redacted of personal information before the documents were published in the FLV for the second public consultation.

As the introduction of this SI resulted in a reduction in the number of licences issued in June and July, it is unlikely that our target of 4,500 will be met this year and it will be closer to 4,000.

I must note, however that licensing outputs have increased over the past three weeks, with 110 licences issued weekending 3^rdSeptember, 136 the following week and 146 weekending 17^th.

The Department is currently examining every afforestation application in the system and has deployed 10 ecologists to deal specifically with afforestation. I would encourage those with a valid afforestation licence to proceed with planting and I am advised there is 5,700ha with approval to plant.

The Department will shortly announce the successful bidder for the recent tendering process to engage external expertise to carry out an end-to-end regulatory and process review, which has been sought by the Project Woodland working groups.

This is in addition to the systems analyst already in place. In the meantime, the Department is working with forestry companies to improve the quality of information provided with licence applications. This has already yielded results for felling licences.

The same exercise has been completed for forest roads and will shortly be carried out on afforestation licence applications. I expect that licensing output will continue apace for the remainder of the year.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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852. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of licences that have been issued for non-commercial, amenity tree planting under section 22 of the Forestry Act 2014. [46357/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Department has two schemes to support the planting of non-commercial trees – the NeighbourWood and the Creation of Woodland on Public Lands Schemes (CWPL).

The CWPL was introduced earlier this year and aims to encourage public bodies to establish new native woodlands on suitable bare land. Bodies eligible for the Scheme are government departments and State sponsored organisations, Higher Education Authorities, and local authorities. The Scheme has four grant elements, two for planting and two for recreational facilities such as trails and signage and forest playgrounds. There is also a small grant for derelict site clearance. Since the Scheme opened this year, nine applications have been received, which are currently being processed.

NeighbourWood is a long-standing scheme that provides financial assistance to create woodland amenities for local people. Funding is available to help establish woodland on greenfield sites and to support the development of existing sites. NeighbourWoods can be used by the community for strolling, family visits and picnics, exercising and a host of other outdoor activities.

The scheme is available to both public and private landowners who work in partnership with local communities. Since 2016, 12 sites have received grant funding under the NeighbourWood Scheme.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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853. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of landowners that have been prosecuted for planting without a licence under summary conviction or conviction on indictment. [46358/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Since the commencement of the Forestry Act, 2014 on 24th May, 2017, no landowners have been prosecuted for planting without a licence under summary conviction or conviction on indictment.

Any forestry activities such as planting or, more usually, tree felling that takes place without a valid licence are taken very seriously by the Department.

Any complaints made are always investigated.