Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I think the Minister would dispute that, but I will take it as high praise indeed. The takeaway from the speeches of the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, is something I have spoken about on a number of occasions. This is what I consider to be the lack of vision for the future of Irish agriculture. The Minister updated us on some of the immediate supports that have been put in place - weather supports that are desperately needed by our farming families. I know any supports during the current climate will be very much welcomed and I am sure no farmer in the State would not argue that we need to go further in terms of immediate supports, but these types of crises will happen more and more frequently. That is an acknowledged fact. It is an acknowledged consequence of climate change. In order to deal with that, we must put a long-term strategy in place based on a vision premised on the importance of the Irish family farm network.

We know farmers will be asked to do much more in terms of reducing emissions and protecting and enhancing biodiversity and we know there are a number of things farmers can do, will do and want to do in order to be able to assist in playing their role in that regard. The area I will cite where we know the interests of agriculture and climate can collide is clearly the area of forestry. The programme for Government set out a target of 8,000 ha of new afforestation for each year of this Government. After almost four years in office, the Government has barely managed to reach that target overall. In other words, little over 8,000 ha have been planted in the lifetime of the Government. We will hear Ministers tell us that they have turned a corner. That will sound familiar to many members because they like me will recall how at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine in February 2022, the Minister commended the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, acknowledging the tremendous work she did in "leading out and turning a corner". They will also recall how in November 2022, when launching the new forestry programme, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, said that the Department had turned a corner in the context of forestry licensing. They will also recall how in November 2023, at the Department's climate conference in the Aviva Stadium, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, maintained that she and her officials had turned the corner on forestry licensing and that the system was now well oiled. There could be a joke that so many corners being turned bring us back to where we started but the fact is that there is failure in the area where farmers can most rapidly and obviously have an impact on climate action and this failure is not on their part but on the part of the Government.

Despite all the rhetoric, the numbers this year do not reflect any corner being turned. The target of issuing 100 licences per week has been met in just one year so far. The average is 65 per week. New afforestation in the first quarter of this year was lower than in any other year under this Government except for the farce that was last year when the Government allowed the best part of a calendar year to pass with virtually no licences being issued. All the while, the Government talks about complex regulations and the need for approval from Government but we know there is an exact parallel with regard to what is possible. A similar forestry crisis was faced in Scotland, which hired the same consultant as the Irish Government to set out a strategy. The difference was that under the Scottish forestry system, within 24 months, the annual afforestation rate rose from 4,600 hectares to 12,200 ha per annum.

They are now setting targets of more than 18,000 ha for the next number of years. Five years on from Ireland employing the same consultant, the Minister of State is failing to issue licences. Afforestation is in crisis. Those I engage with - I am sure it is the same for many Members - say that any interest in afforestation has been completely dashed by the actions of the Ministers and the Government. There is no clear sign yet as to when licensing delays will be resolved. We have no clear sign as to when afforestation rates will meaningfully increase. There is no strategy for addressing the ash dieback crisis that is affecting many farmers.

All of this goes to the heart of the Government's approach to forestry and wider issues. I listened at the weekend to the Green Party slapping themselves on the back for their record in government in terms of climate action. When it comes to forestry, an area they have direct control of, they are failing miserably. People who are failing so miserably lose the right to lecture others about their responsibilities to the climate, the environment or the biodiversity crisis.

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