merrion street

The Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry, Tom Hayes TD, commenting today on the Forestry Bill 2013, stated that he was pleased that the recent introduction of the Bill in the Dáil has generated a renewed level of public debate on forestry.

“I appreciate that this legislation is a long time in preparation and I am conscious of the gap between the completion of the initial consultation process and the presentation of this Bill before the House. Since the publication of the Bill last April, my officials and I have met with a number of stakeholder interests. At a meeting of the Forestry Liaison Group on 16 October last I invited representatives of the various stakeholders represented on the Group to meet with me or my officials to discuss the content of the Bill and to consider their particular concerns.

As recently as last week I had very a constructive meeting with the IFA, where it was agreed to review a number of the Bill’s provisions that are of particular concern to farmers including aspects of the felling licensing system, burdens on property and the responsibilities of people who may be appointed to committees under this legislation. Further meetings have been organised for the coming weeks with other stakeholder groups, including environmental interests”.

Concluding, Minister Hayes stated “I appreciate the input from the various groups which will inform my consideration of the Bill at Committee Stage. I am satisfied that the new Bill will provide a more flexible system for regulating forestry activities, including felling licensing, and will better serve the interests of all stakeholders”.