Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I compliment the witnesses. I know they have been working on this for some time. I met them at a big public meeting at Kilbeacanty. It obviously affects many people in north east-Clare, south Galway and across Mount Callan. The crux of the matter is the distinction between compensation for income forgone and for lack of development potential. Deputy Ó Cuív asked what exactly the witnesses were told. There is a general concept that one is not entitled to compensation if one is refused planning permission. There is a difference between seeking to develop land in a particular way and seeking to plant a crop on it, such as forestry. Technically it is not planning permission for forestry, it is a permit, which acts in a somewhat similar way. Forestry is just another crop, albeit one for which one needs a permit because it is long-term and has a particular environmental impact. Were the witnesses told specifically that not being able to plant forest would be covered and that they would be entitled to compensation? We are focusing on lack of compensation for activities in the future but what is the loss of profit on a year-by-year basis for IFDL’s members, not because they cannot plant forest but merely in terms of the impact on day-to-day agricultural practice? What kind of loss does that result in for people in designated areas?