Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I cannot accept amendments Nos. 22 and 23. With regard to amendment No. 22, the Minister must be empowered to attach conditions to a licence or grant approved by the Minister. Attaching such conditions may be required to address issues of public safety, to protect taxpayers funds, or for reasons related to environmental protection. The attachment of conditions to licences and grants is nothing new and the cost associated with such conditions is part of the normal cost of doing business. Furthermore, whether or not such costs are justified is highly subjective and not appropriate for inclusion in legislation. This is the issue.

With regard to amendment No. 23, one of the Minister's primary functions, as expressed in section 11, is to safeguard the environment and follow good forest practice. It is implicit in the Bill therefore that when the Minister attaches conditions to any approval or licence a basic requirement of such conditions will be the adherence to good forest practice, including compliance with the relevant guidelines and standards issued by the Minister. As I stated previously, sustainable forest management is not defined in the Bill because it is not a fixed concept. The internationally accepted definition of sustainable forest management will invariably evolve over time to reflect the changing values of society.

The Bill is not about Coillte, as I have stated on several occasions in the past. I do not know how much Deputy Boyd Barrett deals with Coillte, but I deal with it on a regular basis and I have much interaction with it. The change of direction is a challenge for the organisation and I believe it can do it in a good way for the State. It will be important from the taxpayers' point of view as they will get value for the investment being made. Access to information is covered under the access to information regulations. Coillte has public consultation on all of its management plans and it is obliged to do so. As a Member of Parliament, the Deputy should see for himself and meet the people involved in Coillte and see how they do business. He would find it informative and I have no doubt, given his concern and interest in trees, that he would find it very worthwhile. I invite him to do so because Coillte has a very good project and model.

The Deputy said he met various people. Over the weekend I met a forester in my home town. He is a man of many years' experience and stated what is good about what is happening in Coillte now is that it will do what it has always been good at, which is marketing trees and wood and cutting and growing wood. There is huge potential for work and projects throughout the organisation to the benefit of the taxpayer in the long term.

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