Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Why were trees so worthy of protection in 1946, and now they are worthless and a danger to the public? Obviously there are more cars on the road now, but the vast majority of car accidents do not involve trees.

The real legislation we should be changing is the 1988 Act to establish Coillte, which is untouched and Coillte remains dominant. The Minister has huge powers to change or refuse forest management plans applying to private property or to do whatever he wants with them, while at the same time the Minister is one of two shareholders in Coillte. So I have a problem with section 30 and I hope the Minister might review it as part of the overall objectives of the Bill. We cannot ignore Coillte.