Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Gowran for his comprehensive submission to the committee. I will be brief as I know the Chairman is under a time constraint. I want to get more feedback from Mr. Gowran on a point Deputy Carthy raised. It relates to ash dieback and how he believes that situation has been handled to date. What could have been done better? What should have been done and what needs to be done now? I asked the previous witnesses, based on their submission, about the damage to farmer enthusiasm or the brand that is the species of ash. How could any farmer in his or her right mind be encouraged to plant ash based on what he or she has seen, the problems associated with the ash dieback disease and how it was or was not handled? Deputy Carthy touched on that also but Mr. Gowran might elaborate on it.

To go back to our licensing process, the backlog in licensing is affecting when and if people do their thinning. What is Mr. Gowran's view of a forestry project, how it is affected, its longevity and its overall quantity and quality if it is not thinned at the right time or not thinned out at all? I am aware some people are skipping the opportunity to thin. They are having to deal with so much hassle and bureaucracy to get a licence to get in and do it that they are not thinning when they should do so. How detrimental is that to the overall output at the end of the project if the forest is not thinned properly and at the correct point in time in its development?