Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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184. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the development of the new Forestry Strategy; the timeline for the publication of the strategy; the status of the development of the finalised Shared National Vision for Trees and Forests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26802/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The development of Ireland's next forest strategy and shared national vision for trees and forests is currently underway.

Project Woodland established by my Department has made significant progress in the last 12 months preparing the ground for a wide range of public and stakeholder engagements that have now taken place. These engagements include bilateral stakeholder meetings, a forest public attitudes survey and also a community engagement survey by Irish Rural Link. An online public consultation on the vision for forestry was launched on 16th March and closed on the 27th  April 2022 with over 3,000 responses received. These responses are currently being examined and will provide important feedback on a range of areas which will help shape the next forest strategy.

A Deliberative Dialogue of 100 people, representative of the general demographics of the population, took place on 10th and 14th May 2022 and was independently chaired by the broadcaster Helen Carroll. This event provided a platform for a diverse group of people to learn about forests and to discuss the future of Irish forests. The Department will now examine all the different consultations that have taken place to date and provide a summary of the main findings which will be publicly available. It is expected that this work will be completed before the end of June.

The purpose of the wide range of public and stakeholder consultation is to provide the basis for drafting a shared national forest strategy. A working group within Project Woodland is now currently drafting the next forest strategy which will draw on the feedback received from the many consultation exercises carried out. The Forest Strategy will focus on a number of key strategic themes such as climate, wood, nature, people, economy and rural development. The new Forest Strategy will also underpin a new Forestry Programme for the period 2023 - 2027. 

The New Forest Strategy will be subjected to a Strategic Environmental Analysis (SEA) and an Appropriate Assessment and includes public consultation on the draft plan and Environmental Report. The SEA process is currently under way. 

In relation to the timeframe for the publication of Ireland's Forest Strategy and shared vision for forests, my Department expects to publish towards the end of 2022 once the Strategic Environmental Assessment is completed.