The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) has said that improving the level of afforestation is “a key priority for 2022”.
In a written parliamentary question, Cork TD Colm Burke asked why the department was unable to issue the minimum 20 afforestation licences since its forestry dashboard began.
The Fine Gael representative also questioned how ecological input is being managed by DAFM.
Burke said that the number of ecology staff in the department had increased to 27 last year, however he noted that DAFM only achieved 55% of its target for private forestry licences with ecological input.
Afforestation
In response, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue admitted that afforestation levels had not improved as the department would like.
The minister said that just over 4,200ha of afforestation was approved last year.
“Improving afforestation licencing is a key priority for 2022,” McConalogue stated.
The minister said that the recently published Forestry Licencing Plan for 2022 has set a target of issuing 5,250 forestry licences this year – this would be an annual increase of 30%, if it is realised.
He said that additional resources had been deployed in the department to “accelerate the licensing process”.
McConalogue said that under the plan “a higher priority will be given to afforestation licences for 2022” with a target of 1,040 licences, which would be an increase of 107%.
The department is aiming to achieve a year-on-year increase of 48% in private felling, roads and afforestation files.
In terms of ecology, the minister noted that “afforestation is a permanent land use change” and the department is required to consider potential impacts, including on habitat, in the surrounding areas and countryside.
McConalogue stated that such files are “often accompanied by numerous submissions from third parties”.
The minister said that an independent regulatory review has been commissioned under Project Woodland to assess if the process can be improved while meeting environmental requirements.