Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Heather Humphreys for sharing her time with me. I congratulate Deputy Tom Hayes on his appointment as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. In that role, he is responsible for the forestry sector.

I wish to take up a point that has been referred to by one of the previous speakers. It is not all about the economics of forestry, which are very significant. The impact of a thriving forestry sector can be much more than just its economic value. In that context, as a proud Tipperary man, I am sure the Minister of State will search long and hard to find a more appropriate testimony to the significance of forestry than that contained in the Lament for Kilcashor Caoine Cill Cháis. I am sure many of us learned this poem long ago in school. It began with the lines "Cad a dhéanfaimid feasta gan adhmad? Tá deireadh na gcoillte ar lár; níl trácht ar Chill Cháis ná ar a teaghlach is ní bainfear a cling go bráth." Kilcash is in the Minister of State's constituency and was the home of the Butlers. The poem is a lament for, among other things, the lady of the House who was one of the Butlers but also for the demise of Irish forestry and the woodlands around Kilcash. The line relates to a reference by previous speakers to the impact of a positive forestry sector. The poem goes on to reflect on the biodiversity that forestry supports such as the ducks' voices, the geese, the eagle's cry, the bird's song and the bees and refers to "no hazel nor holly nor berry". If the Minister of State wants appropriate motivation for the forestry sector and what can be achieved, I would advise him to frame a copy of that poem and hang it in his Ministerial office because it is a testimony to the fact that long before the establishment of this House, we had very substantial forestry cover.

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