Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This appeal Bill is long overdue. The industry is in an absolute crisis. It is unacceptable that mounting issues discussed here today and the ones I will touch on shortly have been allowed to develop to this level of crisis.

The forestry industry will not even hit 2,000 hectares of planting this year. This is less than a quarter of the envisaged targets that we need. Nurseries, timber contractors, planters - the entire industry - are in agreement that forestry works are in a state of complete and utter stagnation. This is having a massive negative impact on our environment, our economy and our jobs.

From having spoken to many in the industry affected by these mounting issues as well as my own understanding of how forestry must operate in this country, I do not believe that this Bill will solve all the issues in order to get the industry operational again. All this Bill will do is fill a pothole when the entire road needs to be resurfaced. It is a start in getting the forestry licensing process into order, but it is only a start. Much more action must be taken on top of this.

Bureaucracy, red tape and a complete disconnect from stakeholders has become the norm in the past number of years. The people on the ground who know how this industry operates are not being listened to. There are individuals facing these constant bureaucratic hurdles and this Bill will not facilitate them in getting their industry operating again.

I welcome the Bill and I will speak again later on Committee Stage. It is a start and, hopefully, it will speed up the appeals process and get the appeals dealt with much faster. However, the licensing structure that is operating in forestry at present is dysfunctional and it needs to be addressed urgently.

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