Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I suggest the challenges are from other land use sectors. We have seen expansion in the dairy sector in recent years. That puts pressure on. It is easy for a farmer to rent land to a dairy farmer potentially when he knows he will get his land back after five or ten years, if he signs a lease that is long enough. If we put that up against afforesting land for 30 years, it is a decision people can make in a short time. This is where we have to look at what we want as a nation from our land. Do we want to have more trees? If we do, then we have to look at ways of incentivising farmers and private landowners to plant. As I have said before, I accept that if we are to meet our afforestation targets in years to come, we will have to rely wholly on farmers and private landowners to do it.