Dr. Elaine McGoff:

It was in the SWAN submission but I can cover that. One of the problems with the legacy of forestry is that there is a replanting obligation in the forestry legislation which essentially states that once land is afforested and once you fell it, you are obliged to reforest it. There are opportunities to derogate from that but they happen rarely. We need to see that obligation amended. A lot of that forestry might be in very sensitive freshwater pearl mussel catchments. Freshwater pearl mussel require open peatland habitat because they require constant hydrology and any trees in that area, regardless of what kind, will decimate freshwater pearl mussels. In those sort of areas we need a return to open peatland habitat. One of the issues is that removing the trees can sometimes increase siltation so it has to be done carefully and I have heard mention of the requirement to fell them using helicopters. Although it sounds preposterous apparently it is commonly used on the Continent. I acknowledge that it is a difficult thing to grapple with but that does not mean we should not grapple with it. We have to address it and it has climate impacts too because that peatland is drained and is giving off carbon. There is a multitude of environmental reasons to take the bull by the horns, therefore.

On whether we are going the right way with our forestry, An Taisce sits on the Minister of State, Senator Hackett's Project Woodland group. It is difficult to give a short answer. It is not going the right way yet. Work is in progress and I will reserve judgment until I see how Project Woodland progresses. To date, forestry has had a significant impact on our water quality and biodiversity and it has often been planted on peat soil, which has been drained, leading to rising climate emissions. It is not a good news story and it remains to be seen if it can be turned into one. We are not at that place.