Mr. John O'Connell:

If a farmer had a field full cattle dead from foot and mouth, would he have to apply for a licence to remove them? The same thing applies to ash dieback. We have trees standing that are a liability. We are responsible for any damage. If a tree falls on a neighbour or on somebody visiting our woodland, or on people coming in for wintertime shooting, it is our responsibility. Yet the Minister does not allow us to remove these dangerous trees. We are anxious to remove them in order that we can replant and continue on the path we set out on 30 years ago. This is in support of the Government's need to attain 18% forestation, which is so necessary for climate action. We are being treated in an abominable way. For instance, with the effects of ash dieback, we have lost 125 ha of carbon sequestration over the past five years and that is not acceptable.

The Minister can sign off on the Gresham House and Coillte land deal but he will not allow us to remove our trees without applying for a felling licence. This could take six months, a year, two or three years and the trees are a liability. We have our neighbours to consider. Our trees can fall over onto our neighbour's property, perhaps causing injury and we are between a rock and a hard place. The Minister should sign off tonight on allowing us to take out our dying ash trees.