Mr. Simon White:

We had our conference in March. A large number of people, through frustration, said they just want out of forestry. They just want to pull the trees out of the ground and put their land back to other uses. We cannot advocate that as a representative group because that is illegal. We would prefer to see the compulsion to replant removed. We think it is counterproductive to forestry. Once an area is planted as forestry, more than likely the most efficient thing to do when the trees are cut down is to replant because there are roots and suchlike. There are, however, cases where people have been so frustrated they just want out, so the picture is mixed. Few people want to go ahead but a lot of pioneers went into forestry. They want to create new habitats, sequester carbon and do their bit. In farming we know that. Farmers are the custodians of the country. They are trying to pass it on to the next generations. They do not want to pass a mess on to the next generation.

Ireland's countryside is a product of our work and what we in farming do. Our tourists come, look and see this. Other people criticise conifers and such like. In my youth, I lived in Dublin. To me, fun, heaven even, was to go out to the Dublin and Wicklow mountains orienteering through those wonderful forests. Yet every day we hear people decrying them. These forests have so much to offer. They sequester so much carbon and are producing timber and habitats. People need to go out into them and see what they are really like. These are the forests producing something. Our broadleaf forests are wonderful as well, but we do not just have to have those types of forests and get rid of conifers. We need a different mindset. We have a very narrow mindset running our forestry now, and it must stop. Other people who have a different mindset must speak up. They must get in there, make demands and ensure that forestry is given its place-----