James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Forestry Bill 2013 which seeks to update existing forestry law. Forestry is vital to the livelihoods of many farmers across the country, particularly in the midlands.

Priorities in the forestry sector on economic, agricultural and environmental grounds have changed significantly since the Forestry Act 1946. Forestry premiums and grants provide farmers with an annual income stream from their woodlands and the industry provides significant employment like Glennon Brothers in Longford, which this year celebrates 100 years in the processing business.

The Forestry Bill 1945 was enacted at a time when the national forest estate was much smaller. Forestry activity was mainly undertaken by the State when we had strict control of felling because of severe timber shortages. The increasing volume of timber being harvested has become cumbersome in the context of the felling licence system, whose updating is long overdue. The requirement that all limited felling notifications must be lodged through a local Garda station, which was an outdated process, is no longer required.

Direct output in Ireland's wood products sectors, including panel board mills, saw mills and other wood products sectors, was €1.3 billion in 2010. The total direct and indirect value to the economy of the three wood processing sectors was €2.2 billion. The average employment figure for the forest sector as a whole is estimated at close to 12,000, the majority of whom are employed in rural areas like Longford and Westmeath, where jobs are provided across the sector in activities such as growing, harvesting and processing.

One of the new Minister of State's first actions was to visit Glennon Brothers' establishment in Longford. He got a great insight from two Longford entrepreneurs on how the industry works. The Minister of State was fairly experienced in this industry before taking over the portfolio. At parliamentary party meetings and in this Chamber he has always made valuable contributions in debates on the agricultural sector and forestry in particular.

There has been a significant increase in demand for forest-based biomass and lower value firewood. Glennon Brothers sawmills in Longford is one of the largest sawmills in Ireland, employing over 300 people. Glennon Brothers and similar companies export volumes of high category timber mainly to markets in the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Overall timber demand - that is, biomass for renewables and conventional demand for the timber processing sector - is expected to increase over the next decade.

To avoid medium-term shortfalls in wood fibre and to meet the demands of our export driven timber processing sector, mobilisation of the private forest timber resource is necessary. We must simplify the current licence granting system.

Currently, there are two types of felling licence, a general felling licence which allows a person to cut down trees as part of normal forest management practices, including forest thinning and clear-felling, and a limited felling license which allows a person to cut down trees other than for normal forest management reasons, including trees located in hedgerows. This is further complicated by the necessity to notify the Garda Síochána of all applications for a limited felling licence. This process has become cumbersome because of the increasing volume of timber being harvested, in particular from the private sector. While in theory it should take only two months for a felling or thinning licence to be granted, this process currently takes up to 12 months, causing a lot of grief for forestry owners trying to organise contractors, sales deliveries and timely thinning. The Bill aims to streamline this process by removing the need for notification of all applications for a limited felling licence to the nearest Garda station and providing that, in future, all applications will be made to the Minister for a single felling licence, thus replacing the tedious dual system of general and limited felling licences.

Where a person wants to fell or remove a tree that is not exempted, he or she must apply to the Minister for a licence. The application must contain the particulars of the tree or trees concerned. A licence is valid for a period not exceeding five years. I would argue that for standard plantation forestry, a felling licence should be valid for a considerably longer period than five years as provided for in the Bill and should include all thinnings up to the final felling of a forest. This would reduce unnecessary cumbersome work that would otherwise slow down the process.

I am concerned that this Bill has no firm goal and contains little or no developmental or promotional aspect in regard to forestry. According to expert opinion, the annual planting rates for trees needs to be increased by more than 300% if our target of 18% coverage by 2030 is to be reached. No reference is made in the Bill to a target planting of approximately 16,000 hectares per annum. I am concerned at the long list of offences and penalties contained in Part 7 and the almost draconian approach to dealing with them. This represents a missed opportunity to rid our regulatory framework of unnecessary red tape. More than 19,500 landowners, mostly farmers, have planted in excess of 250,000 hectares since 1980, much of which is now ready for thinning. This is a rapidly maturing private forestry sector and we need to allow it to grow.

There are numerous benefits to forestry for farmers, forest owners and the wider economy. On top of premium payments, forest owners can avail of returns from thinnings due to the increasing popularity of wood energy and the clear-felling of their forestry plantation. Forestry is of long-term economic benefit to the economy in that it generates jobs and contributes to our national exports. It is also benefits the environment and is of recreational and amenity value to society in general.

I welcome this Bill and hope that the Minister might take into account some of my concerns.

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