Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish to reassure the Deputy that the system to regulate forestry, whether it is private or public, is exactly the same. Every licence has to deliver on the same requirements. If appropriate assessments are required for either, then both have to do them. There is something of a narrative that Coillte is shown a favourable disposition compared with private operators. That is simply not the case. Coillte supplies the vast majority of timber to the sawmill sector and gets proportionately fewer of the licences issued on a licence-by-licence basis. Even to date this year, 633 felling licences have been issued for private landowners versus 596 for Coillte. That is simply a snapshot in time.

The Deputy asked me to comment on ash dieback. Until recent years, it was felt that the plantations over 25 years had a significant value that was not too far removed from what the final value might be. There may well have been a situation where older trees were less affected, but it has been shown in the recent past that this is not the case. There has been engagement with ash plantation owners and forest owners. They have told us the value is not in a 25-year-old plantation. That is why we introduced a change in the last week or so. Plantations over 25 years will now be accepted into the ash dieback scheme. We will look at plantations that were previously refused because of the age limit for the scheme as well. The scheme is only in place for over a year so this is a welcome change.