Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 December 2022
669. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if it is compulsory for ecology reports to accompany forestry licence applicants; if not, if his Department has a policy on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61802/22]
View answerEcology reports are not mandatory at application stage but may be required based on the nature and location of an individual application.
When the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) receives a forestry licence application, amongst other things, my officials carry out an Appropriate Assessment 'screening' to assess if there is a possibility of the proposed forestry project having an effect, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects on a European site.
It is normal in the planning system where applications are “screened-in” for Appropriate Assessment for the planning body to request a Natura Impact Statement (NIS) from the applicant. In early 2020 I introduced legislation that allowed DAFM to carry out Appropriate Assessment Reports thereby relieving the applicant of the burden of providing NISs. It is now rare for DAFM to request a NIS from private applicants across all licence types.
Depending on the site in question an ecology report may be sought from the applicant to deal with specific issues that may come up on any given site. For example, an ecology report could involve a bird survey to ascertain if a site is used by a certain species of bird.
