Forestry

Ministerial Consent – Project Pearl / FuturEnergy Ireland (Coillte / ESB Joint Venture)

adminLeave a comment

AIE request 23 144

Request for access to information held by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine relating to the provision of, by email, a copy of the consent from DAFM to Coillte in relation to Project Pearl i.e the establishment of FuturEnergy Ireland, as noted in the Briefing for Minister Hackett for the meeting with Coillte on 13 January 2022

Coillte-Pearl-Ministerial-Consent-Letter-from-DAFM-RedactedDownload

Notes:

DETERMINATION OF MERGER NOTIFICATION
M/20/005 – ESB/COILLTE (JV)

Following implementation of the Proposed Transaction, Coillte will continue to supply land to third party developers of onshore wind farms in the State

Coillte’s current share in this potential market is minimal (approximately [0-5]%), resulting from a […]% shareholding in a single wind farm located in Sliabh Bawn, Co. Roscommon

Coillte estimates that it has the largest share of Theoretically Suitable Land in the State (approximately [25-30]%). Coillte estimates that Bord na Móna holds the second largest share of Theoretically Suitable Land in the State (approximately [5-
10]%) with the remaining [65-70]% held by various individual landholders across the State

Click to access 2021.03.19-M-20-005-ESB-Coillte-Phase-2-PUBLIC.pdf

It sees our entire renewable energy business transfer into the new joint venture company, which aims to deliver 1GW of renewable energy projects by 2030.

Coillte’s portfolio of proposed wind farm projects and its Renewable Energy division has now transferred to FuturEnergy Ireland. The majority of projects in the pipeline are either preparing to enter the planning system or are in the planning process awaiting adjudication.

The new company is led by CEO Peter Lynch, former managing director of Coillte’s Renewable Energy Division.

(Coillte)

https://esb.ie/media-centre-news/press-releases/article/2021/11/30/coillte-and-esb-launch-renewables-joint-venture-futurenergy-ireland

Information held by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine relating to all felling applications dated 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2018, where the felling application proposed, either for the whole site or part of the site, that the forest area (or part of the forest area) be converted to another land-use type

adminLeave a comment

AIE/23/097

Decision-Letter-AIE-23-097Download
Change-of-Land-Use-July-2017-Dec-2018Download

Enforcement Actions in Relation to Forestry Activities

adminLeave a comment

There is some information on monitoring of forestry activities but there is very limited evidence of enforcement actions

Alleged Illegal Felling incidents are a good case in point. DAFM tends to address this by issuing a replanting order which

a) doesn’t really address the breach of the law,

b) hardly compensates for the damage done and

c) isn’t always enforced anyway.

Where Forest Roads are constructed without development consent DAFM does not appear to take any action other than to suspend operations if they are caught in the act. If the road is completed there is no substitute consent process.

One case identified where DAFM is taking a Forestry Company to Court for illegal felling (AIE in for background details on this case) 

Felling Applications and Alternative Land Use (where deforested area is to be converted to another land-use type)

adminLeave a comment

AIE/23/030

Note: DAFM does not hold any records that show a change in land use in Coillte felling licence applications. Coillte normally apply to replant after clearfell

This is a list for 2020-2022 where the felling applications received by DAFM proposed that the forest area be converted to another land use type ( i.e. converted from forestry to another land use type.).

The note alleges to explain why the list for 2020-2022 wholly comprises private felling applications and doesn’t include any Coillte applications for this time period.

Download in Excel

Alternative-Land-Use-Final-CopyDownload

Avonmore (Wicklow) Demonstration Catchment – Desk Study

adminLeave a comment

Desk Studies are the first stage in Project Action C1: Catchment Walkover Investigations. They are the initial investigations of the catchments based on a range of available data sources.

These include OSi mapping and orthophotography, EPA status, risk assessment and pressure datasets, CORINE land cover mapping, Forest Service and Coillte data on forest activities and Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) data on Soils and geology. These data are collated into one report detailing the current conditions within the catchments, and listing any potential pressures and threats to water quality within them.

This is the first Desk Study published by the project.

Deskstudy-Avonmore_F01Download