Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

COP 27 was a meeting of about 137 world leaders, representing 90% of global forest cover, committed to halting and reversing forest loss by 2030. Last week here in the Dáil we saw at first hand the gallop out to COP 27 while the forest farmers in this country are on their knees to keep going. They remain on their knees. There has been no funding here for the forest farmers affected by ash dieback. Forestry would be a quick win for Ireland. The growing of trees can dramatically reduce carbon, yet there is nothing to help farmers to fix the old problem of ash dieback, which the Government could have prevented in 2012 if the Government had told the farmers in the first place that the trees coming in from Holland had the disease.

The Taoiseach has pledged €10 million to the Global Shield initiative and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, has pledged €225 million. A total of 28 delegates went from the current Government, plus minders. A reply to a parliamentary question from Deputy Carol Nolan showed us 11 individuals went to COP from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, two from the Department of Finance, ten from the Department of Foreign Affairs, two from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, two from the Department of Health, and one from the Department of Agriculture - one. What does the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine look after? He has a responsibility for dairy, forestry and fishing, yet he took only one representative from agriculture. They flew off on their jets and they would probably have been better off sitting here drinking Red Bull, which might have given them wings. That is what they did. They left the foresters behind and they left the ash dieback issue behind.

Does the Minister, Deputy Ryan, realise that in this country one person dies from hunger every 48 seconds? Yet, the Minister is closing down food production in the State. I ask the Minister to remember that every 48 seconds one person dies from hunger, while the Government is slowing down production here and increasing the amount of food coming into Ireland from other countries. They should be ashamed of themselves.

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