Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. Our climate action plan clearly recognises that Ireland significantly steps up to its commitment to tackle climate disruption. With that in mind, I will raise the issue of forestry. According to the Uplift campaign, which has communicated with all the Deputies in this House, planting native trees to create rich native woodland such as oak, ash, elder and birch should be a priority to have cleaner air and create healthier communities. The Minister knows that. We have suffered decades of deforestation, which has led to the erosion of biodiversity, created barriers to commercial forestry and imposed massive conditions on homebuilders and community and commercial enterprises to offset it by planting hundreds of native species. We cannot have such a strategy. We need trees far and wide but we also need timber from these trees.

This leads to my concern. In my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny, several people have come to me with concerns for everyone in the forestry industry in the region. Creators, builders, landscapers and craftspeople rely heavily on supply from Irish sawmills. However, due to problems with the felling licences caused by serial objectors, the country's sawmills are finding it incredibly tough and their lack of supply has resulted in shorter working weeks. These are jobs which on the line.

Businesses in my home county of Carlow which utilise the products of sawmills have said to me they are afraid there could be more than 500 jobs at stake. Yesterday, I spoke to Andy Doyle, a constituent of mine from Hacketstown, a fabulous place to live. He owns Woodside Garden Products, a family-run business, and he does a lot of bark and mulch. He told me there are 15 jobs there and at the moment they are all under pressure. It is not only him but it is the lorry drivers and the people he is in contact with every day and that is a huge problem. This highlights that when an objection to felling is placed, it does not impact on the sawmills. New housing developments and new school builds could be put on hold if there is no timber in the country to finish them and it must be imported. It raises questions about how we feel about other countries' deforestation. It is not good enough to say one's neighbour does not recycle but as long as one does it oneself that is okay. It is not okay. We are either all on this planet or we are not. It is our shared space. We have to ensure a robust objection system, root out vigorously objections where they may occur and work with industry to solve issues where they arise.

The sawmills supply the timber to make pallets. Everything moves on pallets in this country. If we have a scarcity of pallets, it puts a huge delay on delivery of essential goods. It is so important to Ireland, not just to the builders but to all of us waiting for shops to be stocked. It is only in the past few months in speaking to different businesses across my constituency that I have realised the utmost importance of making sure that we have proper legislation, keep these jobs and keep this important industry going. We need joined-up thinking and we need to plant and offset trees. We fell, and there is no disputing that. Science tells us that forests take harmful carbon dioxide from our air and retain it in the biomass. Planting trees is good for jobs and so is felling them and planting again. It is a green circle. It is a sustainable industry.

Timber from our trees builds our homes, our schools and our crafts and we cannot stand over anyone importing that timber because that is not the spirit of the climate action plan. The sector has already seen the loss of two and a half months of turnover. In addition, new housing builds will only reach an estimated 16,000 units by the end of the year. We were given that figure by representatives of the construction sector at the Covid-19 committee.

Commercial forestry is a renewable resource, a green sector for jobs and we need to future proof our plans for this area. The forestry sector has a turnover of €2.4 billion, provides a €1 billion worth of exports and employs 12,000 people. These jobs and the livelihoods of families will be under threat in rural Ireland if we do nothing. I will be supporting the proposed agricultural appeals (amendment) Bill, which deals with this very issue in another Department. I am concerned, however, that we do not have a whole-of-Government approach to this issue and that is why I am raising it in the context of climate action. We must plant the trees but also save the jobs.

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