Consultation on the draft Implementation Plan for the Forest Strategy and associated SEA Environmental Report and AA Natura Impact Report

Consultation on the draft Forest Strategy Implementation Plan and associated SEA Environmental Report and AA Natura Impact Report.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), as the Competent Authority, has prepared an Implementation Plan for the Forest Strategy.

The contents of the Plan will facilitate the initial steps in the implementation of the Strategy and place us on the road to achieving the Shared Vision for 2050. The Implementation Plan includes the new Forestry Programme (2023 – 2027), which will be the primary implementation mechanism for the Forest Strategy. The Plan also includes a list of actions that will be funded and enabled by mechanisms outside of the Forestry Programme.

In accordance with EU Directive 2001/42/EC and the European Communities (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programme) Regulations 2004 (SI 435 of 2004), as amended, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) has been carried out on the draft Implementation Plan and its findings are presented in an Environmental Report.

A Natura Impact Report has also been prepared pursuant to Article 6 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora as transposed into Irish law by the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (477/2011) as amended.

The Minister of State for Agriculture with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity now invites submissions, observations and comments on the draft Implementation Plan for the Forest Strategy and associated SEA Environmental Report and AA Natura Impact Report.

Ireland's Draft Forest Strategy Implementation Plan

Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report for Irelands Draft Forest Strategy Implementation Plan

Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report Appendix A

Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report Appendix B

Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report Appendix C

Natura Impact Report for Irelands Draft Forest Strategy Implementation Plan

These documents are also available for inspection at the address below during office hours on request by contacting:

We are now seeking views on:

• The Draft Forest Strategy Implementation Plan

• The Environmental Report prepared as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Process

• The Natura Impact Report prepared as part of the Appropriate Assessment Process.

You can submit your views/submission by clicking the following link - https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/Forest-Strategy-Implementation-Plan-Oct-2022

This link will bring you to a site hosted on EUSurvey, a platform that is supported by the European Commission.

Or

You can post your submission to the following address: Implementation Plan Consultation, Forest Policy Section, Forestry Division, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Johnstown Castle Estate, Wexford, Y35 PN52

The closing date for submissions is 29 November 2022

This document is also available for inspection at the address below during office hours on request by contacting:

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is collecting this data to inform the draft Forest Strategy Implementation Plan and its Strategic Environmental Assessment. All submissions, including the name of the person or organisation making the submission, will be shared with our external consultants who are conducting the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment on our behalf. All submissions, including the name of the person or organisation making the submission, may be published on the Department’s website. However, if you wish to make a submission but not be identified publicly this can be accommodated provided it is clearly indicated when the submission is made. When making a submission please indicate if you agree, or not, to your name being published on the Departments website. Should you wish to later withdraw this given consent then please email us at: fsconsultation@agriculture.gov.ie

All submissions and comments submitted to the Department for this purpose are subject to release under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2014 and the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007- 2014. Submissions are also subject to Data Protection legislation. Personal, confidential or commercially sensitive information should not be included in your submission and it will be presumed that all information contained in your submission is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is collecting this data to inform the Strategic Environmental Assessment process of the draft Forest Strategy Implementation Plan. All submissions, including the name of the person or organisation making the submission, will be shared with our external consultants who are conducting the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment on our behalf. This data will be processed in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR EU 2016/679), the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018 the Freedom of Information Act 2014 and the DPER Consultation Principles and Guidance. Any additional personal data received will not be processed, shared, or retained and will be destroyed upon receipt.

Further information on Data Protection can be found on our website here.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and employs appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access. The Department will not process your personal data for any purpose other than that for which they were collected. Personal data may be exchanged with other Government Departments, local authorities, agencies under the aegis of the Department, or other public bodies, in certain circumstances where this is provided for by law.

The Department will only retain your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which they were collected and subsequently processed. When the business need to retain this information has expired, it will be examined with a view to destroying the personal data as soon as possible, and in line with Department policy.

Submissions received in response to draft Implementation Plan for the Forest Strategy and associated SEA Environmental Report and AA Natura Impact Report.

To view the consultation click the button below.