Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

715. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress made by his Department to date in implementing the recommendations of the Oireachtas joint committee’s report published on 2 March 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25925/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There were a number of recommendations made in the Joint Oireachtas Committee report and I can report that significant progress has been made on these. 

Project Woodland was set up to deal with the challenges faced by the forestry sector, as identified in the report.  The project has twin objectives: it aims to improve the licensing system and deal with the backlog, and to drive forward the planting of trees under a shared vision for forestry in Ireland.  The structure of Project Woodland consists of a Project Board and four Working Groups, with each Working Group allocated clear deliverables and milestones to be achieved, and the following is an update on progress made to date.

Working Group 1 - Reducing the Backlog

Much of my Department’s focus in the past year has been on improving licence output.  My Department issued 4,050 licences in 2021, an increase of 56% on 2020.  Through various initiatives of Working Group 1 and increased efficiencies and staffing within my Department, the forestry licencing backlog has been reduced  by 50%  from 6,500 in April 2021 Project to 3, 400 licence applications currently.  The Forestry Licencing Plan for 2022 details a range of forestry priorities for 2022, the delivery of which will reduce the backlog further. In relation to appeals, as you are aware, changes introduced to the functioning of the Forestry Appeals Committee have been very effective with only 30 cases currently in the system, where previously a backlog of approximately 1,000 cases had built up.

Working Group 2 – A Shared National Approach

The JOC report  recommended that all stakeholders work together effectively and welcomed the formation of the Forestry Policy Group.  As already mentioned, individual members of the Forestry Policy Group make up the membership of the Working Groups. Specifically Working Group 2 is aiming to develop a cross-society vision for trees, woods and forests in Ireland, in the development of a new Forest Strategy.

The consultation on the new Forestry Strategy is well underway, with a public attitudes survey and a community engagement survey already completed while bilateral engagement with key stakeholders is nearing completion.  An online public consultation was open from 16^thMarch to 27^thApril and over 3,000 responses were submitted. Deliberative dialogue in the form of a national event took place over the week ending the 15th May.  Output from these will feed into the formation of the new Forestry Strategy and Programme.

The Committee highlighted the need to re-engage farmers and to have sufficient supports to encourage them to enter, re-enter and remain within forestry programme.The new Forest Strategy will underpin a new Forestry Programme for the period 2023 - 2027, which will focus on  encouraging farmers to plant. My Department will engage further with stakeholders on the measures that will be considered for the new Programme and details of this engagement will be made available in the coming weeks. The Programme will also be subject to a Strategic Environmental Analysis/Appropriate Assessment process, and this will include public consultation on the draft plans and Environmental Report.

Native and broadleaf planting will continue to be supported. It is of note that an average of 27% broadleaves has been achieved since the current Programme started and that this figure reached 41% in 2021.  A regulatory change has recently been made to the Forestry Act 2014 which will facilitate the planting of small areas of native trees of up to 1 ha in size as part of a scheme without the requirement for a licence.  This regulatory change will complement existing efforts to increase afforestation and provides greater flexibility when establishing small areas of native trees important for biodiversity, landscape and water quality.

Working Group 3 – Organisational Development and Communications

The JOC's recommendation that a (Forestry) Customer Charter be developed, that an agreed timeframe be introduced for licensing applications, and that quarterly meetings be held to monitor its implementation fall under the remit of this Working Group.

Work on a draft Forestry Customer Charter has  commenced and envisages identifying  timelines within the Charter. Finalisation is dependent on any new practices arising from the Regulatory Review which should be completed in the coming weeks,  and taking into consideration the implementation of the end-to-end process review as conducted under Working Group 4.

Furthermore, a training needs analysis for forestry licencing and an organisational review of the Department’s Forestry divisions will be undertaken in 2022. Work has progressed on the development of a communications strategy for forestry, and a refresh of the Forestry Page on the Departmental website to make it more accessible  has been carried out. A review of the role of COFORD will also be finalised in 2022. 

Working Group 4 – Process Improvement

The JOC's recommendation that the licensing system be accessible and not subject to delay for current stakeholders and new entrants falls under the remit of this Working Group . A related recommendation of the Committee was that additional resources be allocated as soon as practicable.

My Department has invested heavily in additional ecologists, inspector and administrative staff and it is these resources which will deliver on the target of 5,250 licences as contained in the Forestry Licensing Plan 2022.

An end-to-end review of the licencing process has been completed and recommendations arising from that review have moved to the implementation stage. A legal and regulatory review of forestry licensing has been carried out and is near finalisation.Pre-application discussions on forestry licence applications, are being piloted across six regions currently while work has progressed on the introduction of an environmental grant to cover additional costs associated with Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Directive. Sanction is awaited from Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for the payment of this grant.

Some recommendations in the JOC's report fall somewhat outside the scope of Project Woodland, specifically questions on Ash Dieback and Elm Disease.

Ash Die Back

My Department has provided support totalling over €7 million to owners of ash plantations impacted by ash dieback disease through the ash dieback reconstitution scheme (introduced in 2013) and more recently the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (RUS – Ash dieback) introduced in July 2020.  My Department has received 782 applications for over 3,022 hectares under the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme.  189 of these applications have been approved and I am committed to refocusing on approvals under the Scheme, as outlined in our Licensing Plan for 2022.  As regards  the question raised by the JOC in relation to restarting annual premiums, my Department is  currently examining the uptake of RUS  in 2022 and the challenges faced by the owners of ash plantations in availing of the scheme in the context of the current year planned expenditure.

The report on origins of ash dieback in Ireland and lessons learned is under preparation and will be finished shortly. Following completion, the report will be published on the Departments website and will be sent to members of the Joint Committee.

Elm Disease

In relation to Elm, Teagasc are currently collecting samples of elm to verify its resistance in order to establish a collection of Irish elm genotypes resistant to the Dutch elm disease and to further explore the potential to initiate a breeding programme.

In conclusion, implementing the outcomes of Project Woodland remains a priority for my Department in 2022 and does I believe address in the main the recommendations contained in the Committee’s report.