The Irish forestry sector is in a state of emergency and is being strangled by the very Department that is charged with promoting it, IFA president Tim Cullinan has said.
Currently, there is a backlog of approximately 2,500 licences which are pending a decision by the Department of Agriculture, some of these pending for over two years. A further 500 licences are under appeal.
Cullinan said: “Minister of State with responsibility for forestry Pippa Hackett needs to get an immediate grip of the situation if we are to have any credible farm forestry programme in the country.
“While the recent amendment to the Forestry Act will help to speed up the process, the real problem is in the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture.”
Dysfunctional system
The IFA has warned that the delay in felling licences is causing immediate problems leading to an acute shortage of timber in the country.
“This is threatening the very future of the sector with sawmills grinding to a halt and 12,000 jobs at risk. Thousands of acres stand ready for harvest, but they are blocked by a dysfunctional licencing system,” Cullinan said.
“It is indefensible that farmers who were encouraged to plant forestry are now being prevented from thinning and managing their timber crop.”
Disengagement
Cullinan has suggested that farmers are becoming so frustrated with forestry that they are disengaging from it as a land use entirely.
“The average farm forest is eight hectares. The current system actively discourages planting of smaller areas due to the costs involved.”
The IFA has put forward an emergency plan to address the crisis which includes an immediate amnesty for forest road and felling licences, if they are waiting for more than four months to be processed.
“We need to cut out the messing, this is an emergency. If sawmills close they may not re-open, running the risk of shutting down infrastructure built up over decades,” Cullinan concluded.
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The Irish forestry sector is in a state of emergency and is being strangled by the very Department that is charged with promoting it, IFA president Tim Cullinan has said.
Currently, there is a backlog of approximately 2,500 licences which are pending a decision by the Department of Agriculture, some of these pending for over two years. A further 500 licences are under appeal.
Cullinan said: “Minister of State with responsibility for forestry Pippa Hackett needs to get an immediate grip of the situation if we are to have any credible farm forestry programme in the country.
“While the recent amendment to the Forestry Act will help to speed up the process, the real problem is in the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture.”
Dysfunctional system
The IFA has warned that the delay in felling licences is causing immediate problems leading to an acute shortage of timber in the country.
“This is threatening the very future of the sector with sawmills grinding to a halt and 12,000 jobs at risk. Thousands of acres stand ready for harvest, but they are blocked by a dysfunctional licencing system,” Cullinan said.
“It is indefensible that farmers who were encouraged to plant forestry are now being prevented from thinning and managing their timber crop.”
Disengagement
Cullinan has suggested that farmers are becoming so frustrated with forestry that they are disengaging from it as a land use entirely.
“The average farm forest is eight hectares. The current system actively discourages planting of smaller areas due to the costs involved.”
The IFA has put forward an emergency plan to address the crisis which includes an immediate amnesty for forest road and felling licences, if they are waiting for more than four months to be processed.
“We need to cut out the messing, this is an emergency. If sawmills close they may not re-open, running the risk of shutting down infrastructure built up over decades,” Cullinan concluded.
Read more
Department rejects claims that Irish forests are a net source of C02
Over half of Irish forestry emits more carbon than it sequesters
Two-tier forestry licensing system criticised by IFA
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