Topics / Forestry Sector

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Forestry Sector

319 questions from 48 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 21 October 2026.

319
questions
317 written, 2 oral
48
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
3
departments asked

Questions per month

The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.

Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
MonthQuestions
January 20259
February 202514
March 202512
April 202513
May 202527
June 20252
July 202523
August 20250
September 20256
October 20254
November 202516
December 202510
January 202610
February 20262
March 202657
April 202616
May 202639
June 202623
July 20261
August 20260
September 202630
October 20265

Who asks, by party

The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.

  • Aontú29 from 1 TD · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil52 from 11 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael31 from 10 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party2 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent22 from 5 TDs · 15 seats today
  • Independent Ireland56 from 2 TDs · 4 seats today
  • Labour Party5 from 3 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity59 from 2 TDs · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin55 from 10 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.

  1. 54
  2. 37
  3. 29
  4. 24
  5. 19
  6. 17
  7. 16
  8. 13

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Holly Cairns Written 18 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
852. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will commit to including the investment aid for the development of the forest tree nursery sector scheme within the next Forestry Programme. [63149/25]
Michael Cahill Written 12 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
802. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if an organisation still exists or has it been replaced by another name/organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61443/25]
Paul Murphy Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
1394. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action that will be taken in relation to the felling of many acres of mature native trees in Cork recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59225/25]
Ryan O'Meara Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
1402. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with regard the development of a national framework for carbon farming, if Irish forest owners will see direct benefits from the sequestration they facilitate through growing trees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57814/25]
Ryan O'Meara Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
1404. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with regard the development of a national framework for carbon farming, if consideration has been given to the implementation of a general methodology, as suggested by some operating in the industry, based on data regarding specific tree species, soil type and forest age has been considered, one whereby individual forest owners could al…
Ryan O'Meara Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
1406. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the legislation and regulatory requirements in place with regard to the prevention of the importation of invasive insects, such as the bark beetle and infectious diseases, that pose a threat to Irish forestry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57819/25]
Roderic O'Gorman Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
1432. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the destruction of up to 30 acres of mature forestry in Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58595/25]
Brendan Smith Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
1455. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when it is proposed to amend legislation and regulations in relation to forestry taking into account the widespread concerns of communities regarding power outages which have occurred as a direct result of trees falling on power lines and telecommunication lines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59849/25]
Brendan Smith Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
1456. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures he proposes to implement to ensure that forestry plantations are properly maintained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59850/25]
Holly Cairns Written 21 Oct 2025 · to Agriculture
650. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the circumstances in which farmers are required to apply for tree felling licenses, screening and consent from his Department; whether licenses, screening or consent has ever been issued by his Department retrospectively; and to outline the consequences for failures to comply with regulations. [56802/25]
Mairéad Farrell Written 15 Oct 2025 · to Agriculture
252. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the neonicotinoid insecticide acetamiprid will be used in State-owned forestry within the zone of influence of Lough Corrib SAC in 2025 and 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55540/25]
Matt Carthy Oral 14 Oct 2025 · to Agriculture
108. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of land afforested in each of the years 2020 to 2024 and to date in 2025; his target for afforestation in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54991/25]
Eamon Scanlon Written 14 Oct 2025 · to Agriculture
122. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the scheme will open for landowners to apply for funding to replant ground damaged as a result of storm Éowyn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54901/25]
Cathal Crowe Written 23 Sep 2025 · to Agriculture
515. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) can expect to have their delayed forest premia payments made to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50357/25]
Ken O'Flynn Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Agriculture
1732. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of landowners affected by ash dieback disease who have received compensation to date; the support available for replanting and if he will introduce a new financial support scheme for affected forestry owners. [44918/25]
Michael Fitzmaurice Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Agriculture
1735. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide a breakdown of the Forestry Licenses issued in 2025 will the department provide a breakdown of the hectares of licenses granted to Coillte; the hectares of the licenses granted to private farmers and hectares of licenses granted to funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45058/25]
Seán Canney Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Agriculture
1776. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to consider amending the Forest Act 2014 and the Forestry Regulations 2017 to allow forest owners who have felled their forest to use the land for other purposes, as some forest owners want to use their land for alternative purposes but are prohibited from doing so by the replanting obligation of the clear-felling licence; and if he will…
Sorca Clarke Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Agriculture
1777. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the funding and supports available to landowners who wish to engage in reforestation and native tree planting projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46103/25]
Joe Cooney Written 8 Sep 2025 · to Agriculture
1807. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department is considering increasing the mandatory minimum distance of newly planted forestry from vital infrastructure such as roads and telecommunications and energy lines, in view of the widespread disruption caused by storm Éowyn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47022/25]
Paul Lawless Written 29 Jul 2025 · to Agriculture
2160. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current procedure by which afforestation licence applications are referred to the ecology unit; and the average processing times to first response and final decision. [41348/25]
Paul Lawless Written 29 Jul 2025 · to Agriculture
2161. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the mechanisms that exist to ensure active communication between ecology unit staff, the forest service inspectorate, the forester who submitted the application and the landowner throughout the field assessment process. [41349/25]
Paul Lawless Written 29 Jul 2025 · to Agriculture
2162. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of any Service Level Agreement, SLA, or target for maximum review time within the ecology unit; and the proportion of applications exceeding this SLA in each of the past three years. [41350/25]
Paul Lawless Written 29 Jul 2025 · to Agriculture
2163. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration is being given to changes that would allow foresters or landowners to participate with consent in site visits or interim discussions so that unsuitable areas can be flagged early, avoiding wasted time and resources. [41351/25]
Paul Lawless Written 29 Jul 2025 · to Agriculture
2164. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total cost of the running the forest service in each of the years 2020 to 2024, in tabular form. [41352/25]
Paul Lawless Written 29 Jul 2025 · to Agriculture
2165. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a breakdown of the administration costs per hectare, by licence type for afforestation, felling, and forest road; the total hectares processed under each licence category; and the average administration cost per hectare for applications that were ultimately approved versus those that were withdrawn or refused, for eac…