The Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) received 116 valid appeals against licence decisions in 2025, according to its Chairperson's Report.

This figure was out of 125 total appeals received in 2025, meaning nine of the total number received were considered invalid.

For the same period, 45 appeals decisions were issued relating to 37 licence decisions, including outstanding licences that were under appeal from previous years.

On January 1, 2025, there were 105 appeals outstanding that concerned 82 licence decisions, all of which were carried over from previous years.

During 2025, one appeal was withdrawn against one licence.

This left 167 appeals outstanding relating to 141 licences on December 31, 2025.

On the same date, the FAC was waiting on 63 statements of fact from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Forestry licences which may be appealed include the following categories:

Felling;
Afforestation;
Forest roads;
Aerial fertilisation.

Of the licence cases decided in 2025, 42% involved afforestation, 42% related to felling, and 16% centred on forest roads.

There were no appeals relating to aerial fertilisation addressed in 2025.

From the date an appeal is heard to the date parties to the appeal received a decision took on average 52 calendar days during 2025.

According to the report, the period varied from case to case, depending on matters such as the nature and complexity of the grounds of appeal lodged.

In deciding an appeal, the Forestry Appeals Committee has a number of options.

It can either affirm the original decision (thereby rejecting the appeal), or where the committee is satisfied that a "serious or significant error(s)" was made in making the initial decision, or that the decision was made without complying with fair procedure, it can:

vary the decision;
allow the appeal and set aside the decision;
set aside the decision and remit it, for stated reasons, to the Minister;
where the Committee considers it appropriate to do so, by reference to submissions, documents, or evidence before it which were not considered by the Minister or for other good reason, substitute its decision for the decision of the Minister.

Of the 37 licences that had appeal decisions reached in 2025, the overwhelming majority ended in the initial decision being set aside and remitted to the minister, accounting for 27 of the 37.

Three of the licences resulted in their associated appeals being rejected, while six licences had their appeals allowed. Only one licence resulted in the initial decision being varied.

According to the report, matters that led to these decisions cover a broad range.

They included errors in applications made for licences, such as in mapping, omissions in screening requirements, and errors or omissions in screening for Appropriate Assessment. Some of these errors were referred to as "technical in nature".

Access to Information on the Environment (AIE)

During 2025, the FAC also received 41 Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) requests.

There were four other requests brought forward from 2024, of which one was part granted and two were refused. An internal AIE review was not sought on any of these decisions.

Looking at decisions issued during 2025 for 36 of the 41 AIE requests received in 2025, all were decided within one month of receipt.

The AIE decisions for requests received in 2025 comprised of four granted, 21 part-granted and 15 refused.

There were also three decisions issued in 2025 for requests received in 2024, the decisions comprised of two refused and one part-granted.

Of the 41 decisions, the requestors sought an internal review in 25 instances. The internal reviews resulted in all decisions being upheld.