I raise an issue very pertinent to regional development and housebuilding, which is the forestry industry in the State. At the moment, 1,980 licences awaiting approval by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine from an ecology assessment point of view. At the current rate, it will take two years to clear the backlog, never mind dealing with new applications. The appropriate assessment screening threshold has changed from 3 km to 15 km, which accounts for more than 90% of the applications to be screened. We need a single, workable licence system for the forestry industry. Jobs and the supply chain for native timber are at risk. The price of materials for houses is going up, which is a very important issue, and there is scarcity as a result. We need immediate action on this. We need to see that the farmers who are planting trees know they can fell them. This needs to be taken up as a serious issue.

I agree we need to resolve this issue quickly. Many people in Ireland feel that they can neither plant nor fell a tree. That situation cannot persist for too long. We need the timber for construction and we need to plant more trees in order to help us meet our climate ambitions. The Government accepts that an appropriate assessment procedure is needed for forestry-related licences and we support the ambition of Project Woodland. We continue to implement the Mackinnon report and will continue to uphold the objectives of the forest consent system, the birds and habitat directive, the catchment management approach of the water framework directive and the forest law and enforcement governance trade regulation. The amendments to the appropriate assessment procedure were required due to European Court of Justice and Irish legal rulings relating to the protection of Natura sites. The new procedures involve substantive changes and have been challenging to implement, as they involve a more detailed screening process of all European sites within 15 km of a project area. I will send the rest of the reply to the Deputy.