Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I fully support Deputy Fitzmaurice's amendment and reject everything Deputy Boyd Barrett has said. He assumes that we in rural Ireland love to butcher trees and never plant them. That is totally wrong. It is unfortunate. The Deputy needs to spend a little bit more time in rural Ireland. I know he comes to west Cork sometimes. I will take him for a spin the next time he is down there and show him some beautiful and careful planting done by people who respect the environment. He should also remember that if we do not support Deputy Fitzmaurice's amendment, we put 500 jobs on the line at GP Wood and its associated company in Enniskeane. Hours are being reduced next month. Laying off 500 workers would represent a major loss to the economy in west Cork. They come from as far away as Schull, as well as Bandon, Clonakilty, Ballineen, Drimoleague and Dunmanway. This will be a huge loss. I have spoken to these workers.

The industry estimates that 2 million tonnes of timber are held up by the appeals and licensing processes of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Deputy Boyd Barrett wants more houses to be built. That is enough timber to build 100,000 homes. He should keep that in mind. GP Wood has managed to source some supplies from abroad, which will start to arrive next month. Buying from abroad goes against everything the company stands for. Imagine the environmental impact of shipping timber from across Europe. Doing so supports no jobs in Ireland.

Moreover, the Government and the Green Party cannot hit tree-planting targets while all this is going on. The delays are killing the tree-planting programme. Only 2,500 ha will be planted this year out of a Government target of 8,000 ha per annum. The impact on our climate goals is massive. Afforestation is a key weapon in the fight against climate change. The difference will be millions of tonnes of CO2 left in the atmosphere because the trees that would soak it up will not be planted.

I am trying to speak to the amendment and the importance of accepting it. The forestry appeals committee should be aiming to get through at least 20 appeals per week rather than the current rate of 20 appeals per month. The concept of the forestry appeals committee meeting in divisions is of critical importance. I will be supporting this amendment. I will not hold up this discussion any further because there are a lot of amendments to discuss.

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