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

I welcome the Green Party’s motion. I have spoken to the Minister of State on many occasions about the issue of forestry, particularly in County Leitrim where I live. The county has a significant problem, which has been acknowledged to some extent by the Government in its report on forestry. It highlighted many of the problems we have. Many people in Leitrim do not want to live beside a forest. There is something wrong when they do not want to. In Leitrim, it is because it blocks out their light and diverts all wildlife. The trees are like the microphones in the Chamber, bare all the way up with a small canopy on top. They are like lollipops. People describe these types of forest plantations as evergreen but they are not. The needles fall off and are replaced, resulting in a bed of needles a foot deep at the bottom of the forest. As a result, nothing can grow meaning there is nothing to feed any other wildlife. The Minister said 15% of these plantations are native trees. They are planted in two rows around the edge of the forest with none in the middle.

This particular forestry model may work well for the timber industry. I understand that it makes much money out of it. It also works for some farmers who have gone down that route. No one is condemning them for it because that is the set-up. This motion tries to recognise a different way forward that will create more employment in the local community, better biodiversity and ensures communities can live and breathe again.

I have been informed by Leitrim County Council that it has more problems with pollution from forestry, not farming. Afforestation often poisons rivers and lakes. The views of a mountain and a beautiful lake on one road I know in Leitrim are blocked by a forestry plantation. If planning permission was required for such a plantation, somebody could have objected ensuring it was planted two fields back to ensure the scenery could remain visible. That type of planting happens all over the country. Our amendment to the motion, which I hope will be supported by all parties, provides that planning permission should be mandatory for afforestation over 5 ha. That means a small farmer planting a small area will not have to get planning permission. The average farm in County Leitrim is 25 acres. A full farm would, on the other hand, require planning permission. In those circumstances, the local authority would have the opportunity to assess it and recommend what kind of trees should be planted. That ties in with the motion's reference to having a local plan that would comply with planning permission. People living in the area could put in submissions or objections if they felt their light or roadway was going to be blocked because of the type of trees, such as Sitka spruce, that might be planted.

I acknowledge that those involved in forestry make much money from this. The way this can be resolved is by coming up with an alternative model and an alternative way of delivering money into local communities. The level of grant aid and premiums available are the same for farmers as they are for investors. Investors need to be taken out of this and it needs to be given back to local communities. It is ridiculous that farms and land in County Leitrim are owned by people in Brazil and other countries through investment companies. Local farmers cannot even buy that land because they cannot compete for it.

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