Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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281. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the administration cost per hectare of forestry under his Department has risen from €668 to €7,400 per hectare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26293/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The figures quoted in the Deputy's question appear to be arrived at by dividing the total estimated cost of running the three forestry divisions in 2010 and 2023 by the number of hectares planted in those years. This metric presupposes that the only work to be counted is that which resulted in hectares planted in the years in question, and indeed even in terms of hectares planted, this does not fully reflect the work carried out on afforestation licences, as it is at the discretion of the landowner whether to plant or not. Furthermore, licensing activity also includes significant work on roads and felling as well as afforestation.

It is worth noting that in terms of licensing that certain High Court decisions changed the processing of forestry licence applications, resulting in approx. 80% of applications being screened in for a comprehensive ecological assessment. As a result the number of forestry Inspectors and ecologists were increased to meet the needs of the licensing system.

My Department has a broad role as the regulatory authority for Forestry in Ireland which covers a forest area of 808,848 ha or 11.6% of the total land area. This national forest estate supports a wide range of jobs and services along the supply chain from nurseries to forest management, recreation, supporting habitats and species to processing timber for sale. Staff in my Department work in a wide variety of roles that support an expanding forest estate and provide a range of regulatory functions.

Additionally, staff in my Department are involved in many areas not directly related to afforestation. Some of these areas include providing roles such as carrying out inventories of our national forest estate, facilitating the certification of wood pallets for trade, to funding forest research and innovation. As our forest estate expands with annual harvesting producing over 4 million cubic metres of timber now to over 7 million cubic metres by 2035 it is clear that in licensing felling and forest roads construction, my Department plays and will continue to play an important role in supporting the rural economy.