Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Seamus Heaney wrote "Some day I will go to Aarhus". After reading this Bill, many of us feel the need to follow him there. The appeals process outlined here, to which we in Sinn Féin have proposed many amendments, seems in many ways to be contrary to the Aarhus Convention's provisions on the citizen's access to justice. The appeals process outlined is unnecessarily closed, patriarchal and internally focused. It is exclusive instead of inclusive. It is a remnant of the old politics, carried out over the heads of the community rather than with its involvement. It is reminiscent of the afforestation which makes too many communities feel they live in the shadow of the forest rather than in its shelter. I do not say this to be negative. I am trying to be helpful. Sinn Féin wants to help. We want to get right the overall planting process and the appeals process which we are addressing today, and we can do so. If we work together on this we can achieve a much better result for forestry, communities and modern political and administrative transparency.

The cost of appeals alone is prohibitive. I know that the Minister of State will agree that a citizen's access to justice and appeal should never be reliant on capacity to pay. I make a special appeal to the Minister of State to exempt environmental NGOs from fees, particularly as many of these NGOs are home to members of her party, from whom I am sure she is hearing the same request. The right type of forestry has the capacity to transform our communities for the better, as does the right kind of appeals system. Trees that were grown well into the 21st century cannot be bound by a system of planning and licensing that did its best and worst work in the 20th century. We need more synergy here. We need a forestry appeals process that comes from a sense of collaborative flourishing, that gives to counties and communities rather than withholding from them. The appeals process in this Bill falls a long way short of what is needed. I urge the Minister of State to pay close attention to the amendments Sinn Féin has proposed and to do the right thing.

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