Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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539. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm that there is no backlog of applications waiting to be processed for afforestation, ash dieback or forest road schemes, given that there have been no accepted applications for these schemes since 1 January 2023; if there is a backlog, the measures his Department is taking to process these applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22777/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has delivered considerable reductions in the backlog of all forestry licences, as well as reductions in the time taken to process newer files.

In August 2021, we had over 6,100 licences on hand for processing and this number has now been reduced to just over 2,500. It continues to reduce each week. In 2022 we issued 4,713 licences, which is 1,154 more licences issued than applications received. This progress in reducing the backlog will continue through 2023.

These improvements were achieved through process efficiencies and enhancement as well through a significant investment in resources.

We are committed to continual improvement and to a fully functioning licensing system which matches the ambition of the new Forestry Programme.

While we await State Aid approval, the Department is continuing to process applications that are in the system in the normal manner, progressing to the point just before certification and approval. The aim is to have processed as many grant aid applications as possible so that approvals will be ready to issue as soon as allowable.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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540. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department remains committed to issuing 100 tree felling licences per week; if he will provide an update on how many licences have been issued per week since 1 April 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22779/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine published the Forestry Licensing Plan 2022 in February last year. The plan informed stakeholders of our targets for the delivery of afforestation, felling and forest road licences, and of our commitment to reducing the backlog and committed to issuing 100 licences, of all types, per week. The Plan committed to issuing 65 felling licences per week.

There is obvious merit in signalling to forest owners, landowners, and the forest sector our intentions as regards licensing which is why I intend to publish a new Forestry Licensing Plan once the new Forestry Programme has been approved at national and EU levels.

As the previous Forestry Programme has finished, my Department is not currently in a position to issue licences for grant aided afforestation and roads. Felling licences are unaffected. In order to allow those with unused licences under the previous Programme up to 31st December 2022 to plant we introduced a De Minimus Scheme. As well as the new licences issued per week set out below, my Department has also processed applications from those who have opted into the De minimus scheme

Our efforts at faster processing of forestry licences has been hugely successful over the last 18 months. In August we had 6,100 licences on hand for processing and that figure is now down to just over 2,500. This number continues to reduce each week. We issued over 1,100 more licences in 2022 than we received in applications.

Licences issued in the month of April

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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541. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide figures on how many requests to extend felling licences his Department has received since January 2023; how many of these have been approved and rejected, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22780/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Under Section 17 of the Forestry Act 2014, the Minister may specify the amount of time that a felling licence is valid for. Section 17(3)(a) states that the felling licence shall be valid for such period as the Minister decides, but shall not exceed 10 years. However, this is qualified by Section 17(3)(b) which permits the Minister to extend the duration of the licence for one or more further periods, not exceeding a total of five more years.

Since January, 2023 my Department has received three requests to extend felling licence timelines.

One of these felling licences has been extended at the applicant’s request as the applicant was unable to fell the trees within the original two year time frame.

The other two licences were refused an extension as they had expired.