Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegation from Coillte. I have worked for Coillte over the years and my father started working for it in 1951. The Department has a rule that if one wants a grant to plant land, one must have 80% of green ground with only 20% of rough ground allowed.

I do not know what type of county the Chairman comes from but in Kerry, particularly south Kerry, we have more like 80% rough ground and 20% green ground. Many places would grow trees. I know the kind of ground that is capable of growing trees and I have been through every forest in south Kerry. Can the witnesses put any pressure on the Department to forgo that rule? Acres and acres of land that is not good for other types of farming are available but they are not allowed to be planted. It hurts me when I see good land being planted and bad land being left idle. Farmers and landowners cannot make any other use of it. It does not make any sense in the world because as we have seen since the early 1950s, that type of place grew massive timber woods, and there is great activity in those places because of that. Lorries are flying out of those places early in the morning and late at night. They work around the clock, bringing timber out of the kind of places that I am talking about. It is ridiculous to think that we cannot use that type of land any more. It is still there. There is still much of it left but it is not allowed to be planted. One has to have 80% of green ground and 20% of rough ground. That is the mix that we are allowed.