Ms Oonagh Duggan:

In respect of forestry, we have produced a report entitled Greening Irish Forestry. We met with the Irish forest service a few weeks ago to discuss some elements of that report with it. We would like to see some of the things in it happen, such as better ecological assessment of forestry plantations going into farmland that is not at a tourist site or a special area of conservation. A survey could be done to identify whether it was an important species-rich grassland that needed to be saved, and whether there were ground nesting birds other than curlew there.

Then we get a good baseline and can make a decision on whether it is worth putting trees on it. We are losing semi-natural grasslands in this manner that are high nature value. Recently, Teagasc published a high nature value farmland map that has a finer resolution. We will be able to see where it is documenting these sites.

There is a push for increases in broadleaf trees in the forest stock and what is planted. Predominantly it is still non-native Sitka spruce type of forestry, which is not great in many respects. We would like to see a lot more native woodland, with the right trees in the right places with the right management and continuous cover forestry, not forestry that will just be clear felled. There would probably be a lot more community buy-in with that type of forestry. Community-led woodlands would be a really good idea. The Senator asked about the Leitrim report and the review. BirdWatch Ireland was interviewed as part of that and we await the outcome of the report. It was just for Leitrim. A mid-term review of forestry was supposed to be undertaken that would include ecological aspects but I do not know what has happened in this regard. The forestry programme will run until 2020 and we hope to be fully involved in contributing to the next policy.