Mr. Pádraig Egan:

That is another problem with the ash scheme. I will move to CAP. CAP and forestry are like two different things. A CAP consultation committee, CCC, was set up when the new CAP was being discussed. Every farming and land-based organisation in the country, along with people outside farming, was put on it but there was not one representative from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's forestry service. The people at the head of the forestry service, which we have mentioned, did not see it as worth their while to put somebody on the CCC to represent forestry. We requested to go on the committee through different organisations but we were told we did not need to be on it. The assistant secretary in charge of forestry in this country was also in charge of the previous green, low-carbon, agri-environment scheme, GLAS, and would understand the need to have somebody on the CCC. Nobody was put on it. At the last meeting here, Deputy Fitzmaurice asked why this was not done. The Secretary General did not allow a reply on the day.

The environmental scheme in the previous CAP was GLAS and it will be called something else in the next one. It will be the same procedure anyway. The forestry service will say GLAS is compatible with forestry and trees can be planted but that is not possible. We have gone through it and know that. In the four or five years before GLAS started, on average, 895 farmers per year were planting forestry on their land. GLAS was introduced in 2014 or thereabouts, and we have numbers from 2014 to 2020. In 2020, 100 farmers planted trees. That was a direct result of GLAS. I know that from being on the ground and some of the members will know that from being on the ground. I do not know how many times I went to farmers who wanted to plant when they were in GLAS. The truth is they could not plant. GLAS was competing with forestry.

Deputy Fitzmaurice touched on this a while ago. We were not allowed on the new CCC but the same thing will happen with the new scheme. That is what we see coming. The officials will tell us trees can be planted in forestry but it will not be possible.