Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

That issue has been ongoing for quite a while. It comes down to people changing their minds. They are issued a licence and they can sit on it for three years. An afforestation licence is valid for three years. I even know people who have applied for a licence, who were maybe not that fussed about applying for it. However, the licence was sought and obtained. Sometimes people just change their minds. They have three years to plant. They do not have to plant within a month or two of having been issued the licence. There will, therefore, be a certain lag. After some period of time, people choose not to plant. If they have gone through the process, especially as arduous as it is at the moment, I would be surprised if anyone did not want to plant. However, there are there are individual reasons for that.