Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy referred to the target of 4,500 licences to be issued this year. My officials have assured me that we are going to get there. Despite the slowdown in July caused by the statutory instrument, we will catch up. We were on an upward trajectory towards the end of June. That would have continued. I look forward to seeing that continue and achieving an increased number. In itself that might instil some confidence in the sector and cause applicants to apply for licences and to afforest their farms in some way or other.

The example of Tipperary was given by Deputy Browne. It is probably worse to think about land use in constituencies. I do not imagine there are many areas of Tipperary lying idle waiting for something. The land will be used for something. Someone will be using the land. Whether it is the owner or whether it has been rented to another farmer, it will be in use. That is also an issue in terms of the competition for land for forestry and other land uses, which are usually agricultural land uses. That is worth keeping in mind and it is something we have to look at in terms of how we encourage farmers, as Deputy Browne rightly said, to plant trees.