From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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The Minister of State for Forestry, Senator Pippa Hackett, today chaired the sixth meeting of her Forestry Policy Group. The meeting received detailed updates from the four Working Groups that form part of Project Woodland as well as an update from the Minister’s Department on current forestry licencing projections. The main update related to confirmation from the Minister’s Department that they have selected a preferred bidder to undertake the external regulatory review of forestry licencing and that work will immediately commence on this.
The Minister commented,
"I am pleased to announce that a contract for the regulatory review will be awarded in the coming days. The wider stakeholder consultation on the vision to 2050 on Irish forestry is also commencing in some detail and I hope all groups and stakeholders will engage on this. Overall, I am very encouraged with the progress made by the Working Groups and the dedication and commitment of the WG members. The first Project Woodland Project Board Interim Report, submitted to me by the Project Board, was published in July. The report sets out progress on work undertaken by the Working Groups and provides an overview on decisions taken by the Project Board to date. The Project Board agreed to advance two Working Group recommendations immediately: an external regulatory review and the conducting of a public consultation process on the new Forest Strategy and we are already moving forward on these."
On licencing, the Minister’s Department confirmed that output has increased significantly and the disruption in the summer caused by the introduction of SI 293 has passed. The Minister said:
“The number of licences issued in the last two weeks returned to expected levels and were the highest two weeks of this year. This is set to continue through to the end of the year. However we also confirmed today that that we are putting a renewed focus on afforestation licencing output as the planting season approaches. Planting trees is such an important part of our climate policies and we need to drive this forward now”.
Project Woodland was established in February this year by the Minister with the objective of reviewing and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the forestry licensing system, as well as the creation of a shared national vision for forestry and the development of a new Forest Strategy for the future of forests in Ireland. Project Woodland and the work of the Forestry Policy Group directly relate to the Department’s goals set out in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine Action Plan 2021 Statement of Strategy - Implement the MacKinnon Report and deliver Project Woodland to tackle issues in forestry in Ireland and drive forward the planting of trees and Advance a new Forest Strategy for Ireland.
Concluding today’s meeting, the Minister said
“I want to thank all stakeholders and participants in both Project Woodland and the Forestry Policy Group for their time and commitment. The new Forest Strategy is a unique opportunity for all of us to determine how Ireland’s forests will look like in 100 years and I am very excited to see the outcome of our joint efforts in around the same time next year. The immediate priority to resolve licensing difficulties is also bearing fruit with significantly increased output. Transparency and open communication is central to the successful implementation of Project Woodland and I appreciate the hard work and commitment of all members. We will be meeting again next month to continue our work”.
Note for Editors:
The progress of Project Woodland is overseen by a Project Board, chaired by the Secretary General of the Department, Brendan Gleeson. The Project Board has met on 10 occasions since the Project was launched and is providing external guidance and expertise to ensure its success. The Chair of the Project Board also updated today’s meeting on progress in implementation of the Project to date.
The membership of the Forestry Policy Group is as follows:
Organisation Nominee
FII Mark McAuley
FII Brian Murphy
FII Peter O'Brien
FII Marina Conway
IFA Vincent Nally
Coillte Mark Carlin
AIFC Dermot Houlihan
ACA Tom Canning
Teagasc Nuala Ni Fhlatharta
ITGA Donal Whelan
Pro Silva Paddy Purser
NPWS Jenni Roche
EPA Bernard Hyde
None So Hardy Teige Ryan
Environmental Pillar Andrew St Ledger
An Taisce Elaine McGoff
SWAN Mark Boyden
Irish Wildlfe Trust Pádraic Fogarty
Birdwatch Ireland Oonagh Duggan
Woodlands of Ireland Joe Gowran
Irish Rural Link Seamus Boland
COFORD Eugene Hendrick
FCI Michael Moroney
FOCS/LTWO Kathryn O'Donoghue
IFO Nicholas Sweetman
Irish Green Building Council Pat Barry
All documents for the Forest Policy Group can be found at gov.ie - Forestry Policy Group chaired by MoS Hackett (www.gov.ie)
The first interim report on the implementation of Project Woodland can be found at gov.ie - Hackett announces first interim report on implementation of Project Woodland (www.gov.ie)
The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine Statement of Strategy can be found at www.gov.ie/en/publication/a9d51-statement-of-strategy-2021-2024/