Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The amendment is in line with many of the other amendments. It follows on the same line of thinking so I do not need to elaborate greatly.

I want to deal with the term "multiple value" but first I will spell out one point. We should develop the industry's economic potential, tap into and realise it by encouraging people to go into the industry. Those are all the things the Government has said we should do. It is critical we are not too narrow in our conception of what doing those things to develop the industry means. If our focus is too narrow, too short-term and too concerned with making the next buck around the corner, we may do irreparable damage to the potential of the industry in the medium and long term. That is why the amendment emphasises and includes the words "multiple values" which refer to all the things that forests provide. We do not want the focus to be too narrow and that is the logic behind many of the amendments we have tabled. We think it is right to spell it out.

We do not know why one third of the trees at Gougane Barra had to be cut down but we would all agree it is bad it happened. Sometimes we do not know why things happen to forests so it is important we keep an eye on these matters, but I will not elaborate further.