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

There is a theme that links many of these amendments. We need to develop this area. There is huge employment potential but it is a question of what the model is and what will work in the long term. The word sustainable is used so often that it almost loses its meaning. It means that something will last and will develop.

I suppose one contrasts sustainable with short-termism because short-termism has dominated too often in too many things with disastrous consequences. That is why that sort of concept has developed.

One of the elements in this area which demonstrates how we have got the balance a bit wrong is that there is an over-reliance on one particular crop. Obviously, there are understandable reasons those involved in producing that crop choose to produce it. It grows quickly and there is a market for it but in terms of the overall picture, this is not sustainable. There has to be diversification, which has been acknowledged. There must be a greater emphasis on native species.

We must expand our vision and model of forestry in the direction of native species. That requires long-term planning and we have not even mentioned Coillte in all of this. However, this cannot happen without Coillte. I do not think we can develop the employment potential without a radical change in what Coillte is doing and its modus operandi. Something like a public works programme is required to develop the huge economic, social and cultural potential in this area.

This amendment touches on the need to shift the model from the current one towards one with more emphasis on community forestry and not just on clear felling and all of that area, about which the Minister of State spoke. There are as many employment prospects from all sorts of angles if we move in that direction. In fact, one could well argue that in terms of the overall economic impact of forestry not only on the timber industry, but in regard to the tourism potential.

Much of the reputation Ireland has as a place of history and heritage is tied up with our forests. That is just as important as the maybe slightly shorter-term view sometimes taken. That is the logic behind this amendment and some of the other ones. Again, it is part of filling out the picture of what sustainable forestry means.