Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know very little about this area, apart from the knowledge I have gained through being on this committee for the past couple of years. It was envisaged that this Bill would make things easier for people who are in, or want to go into, this business. Deputy Ó Cuív is right to say that I have a business but I fail to see what role legislation plays in telling me that I must have a type of management plan to run my business. We all know that one either fails to plan or plans to fail.

According to the explanatory memorandum the Bill tries to reduce the walls of bureaucracy and red tape so that people can run the business. What is the witnesses’ view of that point and where would they like to see it go?

What is happening to the climate? Forestry is a vital piece of the carbon jigsaw and we have not reached our targets. We were supposed to plant 15,000 trees but have planted only 7,000. One Deputy mentioned aqua-land as opposed to agri-land. My father’s place, which is on the side of the River Suir, is half forestry, half farm and is spectacularly badly flooded, to the point that one wonders whether the trees will survive but they survive beautifully. Maybe this could provide an answer for land now affected by flooding for the first time. This will be part of our business in the future.

Are we competitive with Food Harvest 2020? The forestry sector has its own targets. Does it make better business sense for a farmer to move into beef and away from forestry? Is that a quicker buck? Is the Minister off balance? I thank the witnesses for their presentation.