Appeals to forestry licences will now cost €200 under the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020, signed into law by President Michael D Higgins on Friday 2 October.

The Act is aimed at tackling the backlog of appeals in the forestry sector.

The move will provide a legal basis for the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) to introduce procedures that allow for the better management of the volume of appeals in the system.

Fit for purpose

The draft bill was published in July and was open to public consultation for four weeks. It prompted significant public engagement, with nearly 9,000 submissions received and over 80% of these in favour.

Minister of state for agriculture with a responsibility for forestry Pippa Hackett said: “These new arrangements will be more fit for purpose and better serve all stakeholders.

“I am moving quickly now to further resource the forestry appeals committee so that it can deal with the backlog of appeals, which will bring certainty to those awaiting the outcome of those appeals.”

Improved processing

In parallel with these developments, a forestry portal, with all application and site details available in a single website, will soon be opened to ensure more visible and transparent access to the forestry licensing process.

The Department has said it will also address the backlog in processing licences with a project management plan that is in place to deal in a systematic way with increasing the number of licences issued.

Extra staff have been appointed in order to improve processing time, including additional ecologists, forestry inspectors and new administrative staff.

Additional important provisions of the act include:

  • Forestry licence applications will now cost €20.
  • The FAC can now determine appeals without an oral hearing where it is possible to properly dispose of an appeal in that manner.
  • Introducing a council of two, rather than three, for FAC committee hearings. This aims to increase the efficiency of the committee and includes the safeguard that where there is no unanimous decision, the appeal will revert to a council of more than two.
  • Read more

    Felling licence delay making a difficult year even worse

    Forestry licences not keeping pace with appeals