Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a tax-free premium for 15 years but the point I am making is that, in County Leitrim, that premium is very often being drawn by people who do not live in the community and who have nothing to do with it. Where I live and in other such places, almost 20% of the land has been planted. If one takes the rivers, mountains and lakes out of the equation, one notes that probably 50% of the available land in County Leitrim is under forestry. It is time to call a halt to it. Other areas of the country need to bear some of the burden. County Leitrim will be overrun with forestry and will have no place for people any more. This should not be allowed. The time has come to ban forestry in places such as County Leitrim.

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