Ms Mary MacCormack:

I am delighted to have the opportunity to appear before the committee again. It has been at least eight or nine years since I first came here to speak about the fears I had for the future of ash trees in Ireland, given the evidence in other countries in Europe was frightening. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be back here in 2024 to highlight how little constructive action has been taken. Our environment has never been in such great need of trees as it is today, but ash plantation owners have been treated with indifference by the Government. Many of our members believe that the politicians who sit at the top table, each and every one of them, are equally culpable for the state of our ash woodlands. The latest scheme introduced by the Minister with responsibility for forestry is the final straw, as far as we are concerned. We have waited six years for permission to manage our plantations, clear the dead trees and apply for licences to remove trees. We have waited since the spring of 2020, when the last reconstitution and underplanting scheme, RUS, was suspended pending a review. There were several schemes prior to that, including underplanting the dead ash, believe it or not, with saplings. All these schemes were deemed unworkable by the Department and were suspended.

We are continuously asked where the problem lies and who is really to blame for this. Is it the Government, the EU, the forestry service or the Minister? That all depends on who you are talking to on a given day. In my opinion, there is an urgent need for a revision of the whole Forestry Act. It is far too dictatorial and must be made much more farmer friendly. It does not encourage enterprise in any shape or form. It ignores the fact forestry is how we earn our living, that we have committed our land to forestry and that forestry is the sole income for many people. We are not hobby farmers. This is how we have chosen to use our land, and there is so much emphasis nowadays on land use, how important it is and the carbon stored in it.

The way we have been treated is so far removed from reality. Farmers who had the vision to recognise the value of trees to the environment and had the courage to go ahead to plant on it should at least be treated with a lot more respect, and the word "respect" has cropped up in recent times everywhere I have gone and with every person I have met. They say there is no respect for them, their land or the work they have tried to do. We are entitled to earn a living. No other section of the agricultural industry is prevented from earning a living and told it cannot do this or that. The universe is spinning on its axis from the threat of global warming and pollution to the air we breathe. The Forestry Act 2014 is ten years old but, with the exception of a few tweaks here and there, much of it appears to be 100 years out of date to most forest owners.