Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman.

With that in mind, I have just a couple of questions for the IFA president.

We can go back and spend the limited time we have here talking about where ash dieback came from and whose fault it was that it came in. There is no future in history. This thing is about going forward and getting solutions to the problems we have on hand. The witnesses have commented on the inefficiencies of the reconstitution and underplanting scheme, RUS, and the dilemmas that the ash foresters in particular have. We all know about the programme for Government and the climate action targets. People who first went into forestry 25 or 30 years ago did not know what was at the other end other than promises - I will not say false promises - of a big pull of money for their pension or whatever when they reach that age. Now if we are to meet the number of hectares proposed we are asking for many more people to go in at the start. The people we are asking to go in now are going in with the knowledge of the outcome for the people who went in 30 years ago. They are aware of the ash dieback problem. They are aware of the licensing problems. They are aware of many problems the original planters were not aware of. How will we right those wrongs? How will we convince people to go into forestry in the full knowledge they have of the problems their predecessors had coming out at the end?

On licensing, do the witnesses believe the legislation passed recently by the Seanad and the Dáil will help to solve the problem? Will it affect the problem positively in any way? Does it go far enough, or would they like to see more?