Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will have to leave soon for which I apologise. I welcome the guests. Teagasc is due to tell us what to do in order to maintain the forest carbon sink autonomous management, including reducing the itinerary and increasing the rotation age. However, it points out that the latter could lead to a short-term timber deficit of between 20% and 50% up to 2030. This is likely to worry the sector overall, including those planting, those in the mills and the contractors, especially at a time when we are already underperforming in terms of afforestation licences. I have a few questions on that. Are we looking at a situation in which foresters may be required to leave trees unfelled for longer than they had originally planned when they were planted? Will the prevalence of ash dieback be an additional hurdle, given the need to thin or fell trees earlier than the foresters had planned in the first place? What are the witnesses' views on Teagasc's statement that there is a deficit in timber?

We met recently with Alan Moore of Hedgerows Ireland. He told us that carbon sequestration could be vastly improved through proper management. Is enough attention being given to hedgerow management? Is there scope for more guidance on hedgerow management and for that to feature more prominently in the eco-schemes? Mr. Moore also pointed out that only one third of hedgerows can be classed as being in good condition. I would appreciate if the witnesses would answer those questions before I leave.