Jurisdiction: Republic of Ireland

Commencement: 15^th July 2022

Amends: Forestry Regulations 2017
Mini Summary

Duties
Part 2: Control of felling of trees
An application for a licence in respect of tree felling must, include the information specified in section 17(2) of the Forestry Act 2014, and:

1. the telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the person applying;
2. the telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the owner of the lands (if different to (a)); and
3. the location of the land to which the application relates.

Where the Minister has granted a licence for the felling of trees, the person who receives the licence must put up a notice at the entrance to the land, advising the public that the tree felling is being carried out or timber extraction is ongoing in accordance with a licence issued by the Minister.

Part 3: Control of afforestation
An application for a licence in respect of afforestation must include the information specified in section 22(2) of the Forestry Act 2014 and:

1. the telephone number and e-mail address, if any of the person applying;
2. the telephone number and e-mail address, of any of the owner of the lands (if different to (a));
3. where the person is applying is a company registered under the Companies Act 2014:
   • the name and address, telephone number and e-mail address, if any of the company; and
   • the registration number of the company.

An application must be accompanied by:

• an Ordnance Survey map or other may acceptable to the Minister, with the boundary of the land to which the application relates, and all internal plots where applicable, describe and clearly show:
  • public roads;
  • forest roads;
  • aquatic zones;
  • wayleaves;
  • archaeological sites or features;
  • hedgerows; and
  • any other features which may be relevant to the application;
• a plot table detailing the number of each plot, the area of each plot, and the species of trees to be planted in each plot;
• the information set out in Schedule 1 or an environmental impact statement where the application involves an areas of 50 hectares or more, ore where the Minister determined that an environmental impact assessment is necessary; and
• such other information that the Minister considers necessary to issue a license or determine appropriate conditions.

Part 4: Control of forest road works
An application for a licence in respect of forest road works must include information specified in section 22(2) of the Forestry Act 2014 and:

1. the telephone number and e-mail address, if any of the person applying;
2. the telephone number and e-mail address, of any of the owner of the lands (if different to (a));
3. where the person is applying is a company registered under the Companies Act 2014:
   • the name and address, telephone number and e-mail address, if any of the company; and
   • the registration number of the company;
4. the length of the proposed road.

An application must contain:

• an Ordnance Survey map or other map acceptable to the Minister, with the boundary of the land to which the application relates delineated and the route of the proposed road clearly marked and must clearly show:
  • public roads;
  • forest roads;
  • aquatic zones;
  • wayleaves;
  • archaeological sites or features;
  • hedgerows; and
  • any other features which may be relevant to the application;
• an environmental impact statement where the application involves forest road works which is 2000 metres or more in length, or where the Minister has determine an environmental impact assessment is necessary; and
• the information set out in Schedule 1 or such other information that the Minister considers necessary.

Part 5: Control of aerial fertilization of forests
An application for a licence in respect of aerial fertilization must include the information specified in section 22(2) of the Forestry Act 2014 and:

1. the telephone number and e-mail address, if any of the person applying;
2. the telephone number and e-mail address, of any of the owner of the lands (if different to (a));
3. where the person is applying is a company registered under the Companies Act 2014:
   • the name and address, telephone number and e-mail address, if any of the company; and
   • the registration number of the company;
4. the proposed treatment area, in hectares; and
5. the details of the proposed treatment and proposed area for treatment including soil type, soil elevation etc.

An application must be accompanied by:

• an Ordnance Survey map or other map acceptable to the Minister with the site boundary of the land to which the application relates delineated and must clearly show:
  •  the proposed treatment area,
  • exclusion zones,
  • fertiliser storage areas, loading areas and refueling areas,
  • aquatic zones and relevant watercourses,
  • abstraction points of sources of water intended for human consumption,
  •  forest and tree stands,
  • public roads,
  • forest roads,
  • dwellings,
  • wayleaves,
  • archaeological sites or features,
  • European sites,
  • land subject to a natural heritage area order under section 18 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 (No. 38 of 2000), and
  • any other features which may be relevant to the application;
• the results of a foliar analysis of the trees carried out by an accredited laboratory;
• the recommendations from an appropriately qualified person stating the proposed fertilizer prescription based on the foliar analysis; and
• such other information that the Minister considers necessary to issue a licence or determine appropriate conditions.

A person must not carry out aerial fertilization in the period from 1^st September to 31^st March of the following year, unless granted by the Minister in exception circumstances.

A person must not carry out aerial fertilization within:

• 100m of the abstraction point of a source of water intended for human consumption,
• 50m of an aquatic zone,
• 60m of a dwelling house, or 30m of non-forested land, unless permission is granted by the owner;
• 60m of a European Site, unless permission is granted by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs;
• 15m of a road; or
• 20m of a recorded monument.

A person engaged in aerial fertilization must not, exceed the parameters set out in Schedule 2.

Part 6: Consultation
A consultation may be carried out for certain applications for an afforestation licence, a forest road works licence, and a aerial fertilization licence.

Part 7: Environmental Impact Assessment
This Part requires projects likely to have a significant effects on the environment by virtue of their nature, size or location are made subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIS).

Part 8: Appropriate assessment
This Part provides information on the appropriate assessment of European sites.

Part 9: Decisions
Part 9 outlines the decision process for the Minister.

Part 10: Miscellaneous
Part 10 provides miscellaneous information including revocations

Amendment