DAFM announces changes to assessment of some forestry applications

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is making a change to the way in which forestry projects, which require Appropriate Assessments (AA) under the Habitats Directive, are assessed.

The department has said this change, which comes into effect immediately, is “necessary in order to give full effect to recent legislative changes”.

DAFM has initiated a revised public consultation to ensure that there is full public participation in decision-making around projects that may have an effect on European sites.

New procedures for forestry licencing applications

The new consultation procedures for forestry licencing applications will now have several main points.

There will be a 30-day consultation period on receipt of the licence application. This is already the case and applications continue to be available free to view on the Forestry Licence Viewer on DAFM website.

Any member of the public can make a submission within 30 days of publication of the licence application. A fee of €20 for a submission on any application will apply.

A second 30-day consultation period will begin after receipt of a Natura Impact Statement (NIS) or after an Appropriate Assessment (AA) report is produced by the department, and relevant documentation will be published on department’s website.

If a NIS is submitted with the initial application, only one public consultation period is required. This is the new process, and DAFM has said it is one which makes for extensive public consultation on forestry licence applications.

It applies to files which are screened-in for AA. Any such files in the system that have not yet been decided, and future applications, will be covered by this new consultation process with immediate effect.

Lists of these AA cases open for consultation will be published on the forestry pages of the department’s website.

Any files which are screened-out for AA will follow the same procedures as before.