Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the strong contribution from Deputy Cahill in regard to a whole range of issues, in particular forestry. I am very concerned about this issue. When this Government came in, the licensing situation was very difficult because of a lot of legal actions that were taken against licences, and reforms and legislation were passed to try to speed that up. As to the current indications, first, a new national forestry strategy is being developed that will build on previous strategies and give a strategic framework. In particular, the forestry licensing plan sets a target of about 5,200 new licences for this year, which is 30% above 2021 and will mark an increase in licensing output. The Department is also engaged in a number of initiatives to reduce the backlog of licences which is currently impacting landowners.

The Deputy has previously referenced with me the issue of the thinning of forests and the necessity for a licence for that activity. It is a very fair point and I will come back to him with regard to the legal opinions on that.

In terms of support for farmers and the points Deputy Cahill has raised, I will engage with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with regard to the ash dieback challenge and how that may be overcome, but also with regard to income streams. I mentioned in an earlier contribution the whole idea that part of the carbon tax will be allocated to farming and that there would be an income stream for environmentally-friendly farming schemes. The Government took a decision on the riparian scheme recently, whereby income supports would be available to farmers and we took away some of the necessity to apply. I accept these would be very small areas of plantation of 1 ha or less by waterways. I am anxious that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine would move with some speed to implement that. We need more urgency around afforestation and tree planting. We have a natural climate for tree planting in this country and we really need to get with it.

The Deputy also raised the issue of a budget for technology, a point he has been articulating for some time. It is something that, again, could be considered in terms of the utilisation of the funds that come in. I have visited companies that produce the rubber slats, in particular the company in Galway, which is internationally renowned. The impacts are quite significant in terms of reduction of methane and there is no doubt that better technology on the farm can reduce methane and emissions. It is going to be an accumulation of all the various strands and initiatives that gets us to the end result and there is no one silver bullet that will enable us to do that. I take on board the Deputy’s idea of a fund for technology.

With regard to the point about solar panels, the Deputy mentioned the three aspects of planning, VAT and access to the grid. The latter is essential and it has not happened as quickly as it should have - I understand there is an issue to be taken up by the Minister in respect of microgeneration. Again, planning restrictions for smaller solar farms should be less. For example, we have a ridiculous situation where schools have to apply for planning permission for a small few panels.

To come back to the point made by Deputy Leddin, we are in the middle of an existential crisis and we need to act. However, of course, as soon as we do that, there will be another chorus of opinion that we should not do that. That speaks to the earlier points about the collective will across parties to get things done in regard to climate. I find tremendous energy within the farming community to respond to this challenge through innovation, and that does not often get said.

I will talk to the Minister in regard to the points Deputy Stanley has raised. First, the contracts were signed some years ago, before this Government came into office. We all want broadband in remote rural areas. Covid did have an impact, as the Minister made clear to me. Some €225 million was committed for 2022 under the national development plan. I can understand targets being missed in respect of Covid-19 but, again, the Deputy has raised certain points and he said it is now the third plan. I will go back to the Minister and then come back to the Deputy in regard to the specifics of that.