4,576 felling licences remain in backlogged system

Forestry licences issued so far this year is 20% higher than in 2020 

Tim McCarthy with his son Jerome and grandchildren Simon and Neasa: Tim applied 12 months ago for a licence to fell his mature sitka spruce planted in 1987/88. He is still waiting for the licence. He is chairman of Forest Owners Co-operative Society (FOCS) and says some members have been waiting four years for felling licences. Picture: Larry Cummins.  

The number of forestry licences issued in the first quarter of 2021 is almost 20% higher than the same period last year.

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said last week the 814 forestry licences issued up to March 26 is 18% of his Department’s target of 4,500 licences this year.

However, he warned that it will be “an enormous challenge to reach those targets”.

In the Dáil, replying to a question from Fianna Fáil Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill, the Minister said afforestation decisions are down 12% but the area approved is up 14%, in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020.

Forest road decisions are up 81%, and the length of road up 125%.

Felling decisions are up 37%, the timber volume is up 53%.

“We are continuing to invest in resources and reform our processes and procedures to improve our licensing output”, said Minister McConalogue.

However, he has also revealed that applicants have been waiting 17 months for decisions on their tree planting licence applications.

That is the average time an undecided afforestation licence has been in the system.

The average time taken for a decision to issue on an afforestation application, averaged over the last three years, was six months.

The average time taken for a decision to issue on a felling application, averaged over the last three years was seven months. 

The average time an undecided felling licence has been in the system is 13 months.

The average time taken for a decision to issue on a forest road application, averaged over the last three years was six months. 

The average time an undecided forest road licence has been in the system is 15 months.

The average number of new forestry licences issuing in 2021 has been 67 per week.

“It is worth noting that there are always licences in the system at various stages of processing,” said the Minister, in his reply to Deputy Cahill’s Dáil question on forestry licence application delays.

Stages of an application include the registered forester finalising application documents; referral to prescribed bodies; and referral to the inspector and/or ecologist/archaeologist.

Applications may be returned to the applicant (and their registered forester, where relevant) for further information.”

Also in the Dáil, the Minister revealed that Coillte submitted 1,864 licences for their proposed clear fell operations in 2022 and 2023, in the week ending March 19.

This brought to 4,576 the total number of tree felling licence applications awaiting decision.

“Coillte licensing now enters an interim phase, while the initial processing stages of these new licences takes place, before further licences issue, as happens when a new batch of applications is received,” said the Minister.

He said Coillte now have almost all their licensing requirements already issued, for 2021.

In Co Cork, forest licences applications received in 2021 up to March 26 totalled 225.

Applications in the county had fallen from 800 in 2019 to only 268 in 2020.

Also in Co Cork, nine appeals against tree felling licences issued were received in 2020 by the Forestry Appeals Committee, and await a decision of the FAC.

Four further appeals have been received by the FAC in 2021, also awaiting decision, said the Minister in a Dáil reply to a question from Cork North-Central Fine Gael TD Colm Burke.

Minister McConalogue was asked in the Dáil by Fine Gael TD for Carlow-Kilkenny John Paul Phelan how much timber has been imported. The Minister revealed his Department does not hold information on total wood imports.

COFORD statistics showed net log imports of 40,000 cubic metres in 2015, but there were net exports rising from 16,000 cubic metres in 2016 to 205,000 in 2018, which included logs moving to Northern Ireland.

These statistics are not yet available for 2019 and 2020.

But the Minister said his Department has confirmed that imports of sawlog from Scotland have more than trebled since 2019.

From September to December, 2019, the average monthly importation of these logs was 5,245 tonnes.

In 2020, it was 10,488 tonnes per month, and the average monthly importation of logs from Scotland is 17,896 tonnes per month year-to-date in 2021.

But this represents less than 10% of overall consumption by Irish sawmills, said the Minister.