Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Sherlock for sharing his time. We need to acknowledge and tackle the 6% between hedgerows. There are whitethorns and blackthorns around this country that are not being allowed for one bit of carbon sequestration. That is evident on many farms, and indeed around cities in this country. It needs to be sorted.

Deputy Eamon Ryan might get a shock to hear that I agree with the motion. I was a contractor and used go around mowing fields. At one time, we had so-called shelter belts in the corners, and on a hot day, cattle lay under them, or on a wet day, they sheltered at them. Then the great EU - it came out today that we are losing 1,000 farmers per day in the EU - told us to knock every ditch and hedge in the place and even gave us grants for it.

Every farmer around the country - there are 130,000 or 140,000 of them - can sow one acre of trees with no difficulty provided the Minister gives them an establishment grant and gives them a path forward. We may need a two-tier approach. We may need an environmental system for ten, 15 or 20 years so that farmers can see a future in it. The Minister should not stop areas of natural constraints, ANC, or basic payment scheme, BPS, from them because there is a tree in a corner. The farmers have done well. If we get that done, we can get 130,000 acres planted in one year if the Government has the funding to do it. Is the funding there? Furthermore, the larger the farm, the more that should be sown. That is the way to do it fairly.

As Deputy Sherlock said, I was in Connemara lately, at Earraí Coillte Chonnacht, ECC, Teoranta, and it is giving work as well.

We need to bring in schemes for the ordinary-size farmers with fewer than 5 ha who can plant a forest, but not for the big conglomerates that are coming in and bullying people in different counties around this country. Many farmers would be willing to sow an acre or two or three acres in what I would call a middling bit of ground, but the Department has to wake up to facilitating that, because if a person is under a certain threshold, it is not allowed. That can be done in every part of the country.

We have also to look at the following idea. I remember cutting timber in Glenhest in Mayo. A person could not sow the trees there again because the standard has risen for the type of land. What do we want? Do we want to make sure that trees grow or do we want to be putting land to one side? As was pointed out, there are designated lands in different areas. There is also paperwork that must be filled in.

Let us call a spade a spade. The Minister talked about the great achievements. We have no achievements. At present, a person could go for a licence to fell timber and he or she will not get it. That person could also go for authority to sow trees. There is one individual in this country blocking everything. They are going over to Europe. They are bringing Ireland to court. They are trying to block every bit of forestry in this country. That type of stuff has to be cut out. We must make sure that the small farmer, up to a certain threshold, is looked after. I am not talking about 20, 30 or 50 acres.

The Minister also needs to make sure of the roads, as Deputy Martin Kenny pointed out. We must think of wintertime as well. There are roads where there is forestry on both sides on which a person could go skating in wintertime and where there is a need to plant 100 m back from the edge of a road, and from houses as well, to make sure people are facilitated. If we do this right, it can work and it can be successful.

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