Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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1251.To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of changes of ownership from private farmer to commercial forester after licences have been awarded to plant forestry for each of the years 2010 to 2018, in tabular form.[34839/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The table below shows the number of changes of ownership from private farmer to a commercial entity after licences have been awarded to plant forestry in each of the years 2010-2018.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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1252.To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of licences issued under the single consent system for forest roads, which was introduced in February 2020 under SI 39 of 2020, broken down by County; the number of those licences which involved a relaxation from the Department's technical standard, broken down by county; and the number of those licences where the local authority recommended a refusal, broken down by county, in tabular form.[34840/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Technical Standard for the Design of Forest Entrances from the Public Road provides robust standards and guidance in relation to the development of new entrances, and my Department ensures that these standards are implemented correctly in the processing of licence applications.

In every case, the designer of the entrance shall attempt to achieve, as close as possible, the requirements of the Technical Standard. In difficult circumstances, the designer may relax the standard set out in section 5 of this document, where specifically provided for within this section. Before a relaxation is sought, full consideration must be given to the relocation of an entrance without the need for a relaxation. There is a consultation process with the relevant Local Authority, and all information relating to the application - including requests and rationale for relaxations - is provided to the Local Authority.

The licensing process undertaken by my Department involves careful assessment of applications in relation to compliance with the Technical Standard, from engineering, silvicultural, environmental best practice and scheme compliance perspectives. All observations and submissions made by third parties, including Local Authorities, are taken into account in reaching a decision on applications.

The below table outlines the number of licences issued under the single consent system for forest roads from February 2020, broken down by County, along with the number of those licences which requested a relaxation of Technical Standards, by County. My Department doesn't specifically record, in a way that would enable it to easily disseminate the information immediately, where a Local Authority recommends a refusal, but this information is being assembled, and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible. I understand in any event that, in the majority of cases, Local Authorities have raised no objection to the relaxation of standards.