Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I acknowledge that. To be frank, I have always said there is an element of giving the benefit of the doubt to the Department, as someone who has been very critical. There is new legislation and new staff are in place, and we need to see the out-workings of all of that.

I would encourage the Minister to ensure that sentences like "This can largely be attributed to the fall-off in interest by farmers" are removed from briefings in regard to forestry. This is not the fault of farmers; it is the Department's fault, particularly the forestry section's fault, that we got to this point. It is not the Minister's fault either because this is a long time coming. It is a tidal wave that has been allowed to build up.

As I said, what I would like to hear is that there is a commitment by the Minister and the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, that they will review all of these matters in the new year to see whether the measures that have been put in place have made the difference, and also to review the legislation that was passed. I know there will be a new forestry strategy, and it needs to be very comprehensive.

One of the little concerns I have, and it could potentially be a big concern, is that, in terms of appeals, the cost of making a submission is €200, which is substantial when compared with planning permissions. The purpose of this legislation was to prevent multiple appeals being submitted by one individual or a small number of individuals. My fear is this could prevent local people commenting during the debate on something that is going to have a direct impact on their lives. It needs to be reiterated by the Minister and the Minister of State, that that was not the intention. We need to monitor that because there are some communities where the type of forestry has not suited the area and has been very intrusive, and we have talked about Leitrim many times. All I want to hear today is that the Minister, the Minister of State and the Department are open to having all of these big conversations. The forestry change that is required is a holistic one and a review of the whole forestry strategy is needed, which I understand is going to commence soon. That is not to take away from any of the immediate issues that Deputy Fitzmaurice has referenced but the challenges are very big.