Relevant Matter
Public policy or programme
Public Policy Area
Agriculture
Period
1 Jan, 2022 to 30 Apr, 2022
Specific Details
Regulatory Reform of Forestry Licensing System
Intended results
To get assurance from the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine that the forestry licence system will be reformed to streamline the process and provide a guarantee that decisions will issue within the agreed timeframe.
To get acceptance from the Minister that the current system is not fit for purpose.
In 2021, 2,016 ha of new forests were established, this a less than a quarter of the Climate Action Plan target and the lowest afforestation rate in 70 years. At a time when we need to be planting more, farmers have lost confidence in forestry and no longer trust the system.
Despite improvements, the Department continues to fail to deliver licences in the timeframe set out in both the legislation and Farmers' Charter. There are still in excess of 3,500 licences in the system awaiting decision with over 1,100 of these in the system for greater than 13 months. The reality is that the current system is not fit for purpose and cannot deliver the required afforestation programme to meet our climate targets.
A study undertaken by IFA, shows that Ireland has the most onerous regulatory systems in the EU, that places a disproportionate regulatory burden on private forest owners, which does not reflect the size of forest or guarantee decision within an agreed timeframe.
To propose legislative changes to the Forestry Act 2014 that farmers be permitted to plant both native and conifer trees and the threshold should be increased beyond the 1 hectare.
Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity
Tim Cullinan IFA President, Jason Fleming Incoming IFA Forestry Chairman
Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?)
No
Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign?
No
Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client?
No
Lobbying activity
The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.
Informal communication (1)
Designated public officials lobbied
The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them.
As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.
Micheál Martin
An Taoiseach (Department of the Taoiseach)
Charlie McConalogue
Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Brendan Gleeson
Secretary General (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Patrick Donohoe
Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Pippa Hackett
Super Junior Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Martin Heydon
Minister of State (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Jack O'Donnell
Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Barry Cassidy
Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)