Private forestry contractors are “facing financial ruin” as new EU red tape has caused further delay to the escalating licence crisis.
t comes as Minister of State for Agriculture Pippa Hackett has admitted the Programme for Government annual 8,000ha tree planting target – a key strategy to tackle Ireland’s carbon footprint – will be missed for a third year in a row.
With just 1,900 licences issued to date (42pc of the revised annual target), the administrative competence of the Department’s Forestry Service has again been heavily scrutinised.
And as farmer confidence in planting plummets, the Department has been urged to scrap its licensing system which, unlike other member states, requires farmers to seek several licences for thinning, felling and roads over their plantation’s lifetime.
Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill (FF) told the Farming Independent: “Any contractor specialised in private forestry is under extreme pressure, they’ve lost their workforce as they’ve had no work for them for a prolonged period.
“Some have had machinery repossessed by banks and are facing financial ruin.”
Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice (Independent) said: “Contractors with 30 years of an unblemished bank record are being blackened because of the Department’s inability to resolve an issue.
“We’ve farmers who have settlements done with vulture funds where they’d a forest asset ready to cut to pay the debt owed, but they’re waiting on licences. Those deals will be scuppered and farms could end up being sold to repay the debt, that’s the grim reality.”
Minister Hackett recently told the Agriculture Committee she “spoke to representatives of the banks at the end of last year, six or more months ago, on the issue of forestry”.
She said “at that time, the banks indicated to me that nobody had contacted them in that regard”.
However, it is understood this engagement actually took place in September 2020. It is not known how many or what banks the minister met.
Overhaul
Defending the Department, Minister Hackett told the committee that licence approvals nosedived to just 225 in July because of a new EU rule.
“This is directly linked to the introduction of a second 30-day public consultation process for applications subject to appropriate assessment.
“These requirements arise from the European Union (Birds and Habitats) (Amendment) Regulations 2021, which were recently introduced by the Minister for Housing.
“A total of 536 cases went to public consultation up to 23 July, an average of 178 per week. The first of these will exit this process on 6 August.
Vincent Nally IFA Forestry Committee chairman said the latest EU red tape is “an additional burden” on farmers who are legally entitled to licence approval within 120 days.
“Because we have forestry tied up in legislation they must adhere to the rule, but it’s really damaging confidence in the sector.
“We need to remove forestry from our ridiculous legislative process to a regulatory process as operates in mainstream agriculture.
“If you change from a field of grass to a field of wheat you don’t need a licence or planning permission.
“If the minister brought in emergency legislation to remove thinning and roads from a licence requirement it would have an instant effect on delivery.
“Our archaic system is not fit for purpose, it needs a complete overhaul. We don’t have the luxury to wait.”
