Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am absolutely gutted by the response of the Minister of State. She indicated that she will not put a time limit on felling licence applications or appeals. We are going nowhere. The Government is codding the good, hard-working people who are providing employment and creating produce. They have invested a fortune in time and money but the Government does not wish to help them. I can clearly see what the Government is at. It will not listen to any of the amendments.

Time is of the essence. I point out to Deputy Boyd Barrett that there are things that can be changed and improved in the planting of forests but the Bill is about felling licences for grown timber that is ready to be cut. People's jobs are on the line. Deputy Verona Murphy pointed out that harvesters and forwarders cost €1 million per unit. There is not much to them but they cost a savage amount of money and need significant maintenance. The people who have bought these machines cannot continue paying for them if they have no work. The Deputy should be clear on that. The lorries that come through my village or through Killorglin, travelling from the Iveragh peninsula where there a significant amount of grown timber is planted, will stop rolling. The figures for the cost of those vehicles have been given. To learn to drive a harvester is a three-year operation. It is not like getting a provisional licence to drive a car. A person will not be allowed to operate a harvester without having at least three years' experience because they are so intricate and involved. One needs experience to deal with the topography in which they operate. Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to Derrybrien but the problems there arose from the construction of a road and not the cutting of the trees.

I am appealing again to the Minister of State. Time is of the essence but the Government does not wish to listen. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is also present. He is in government now. I also look to him to protect the farmers and landowners who have land planted in counties Donegal, Sligo, Roscommon or other places. The were advised to plant in the first place because the land was not arable and there was no other way of deriving money from it. There are now many places where the trees are ready to be cut. As I have stated in the House on several occasions, we do not have deposits of oil, gold or diamonds in this country. We must use whatever resources we have to survive. Forestry is one of the resources we have on marginal land in rural parts of Kerry and west Cork. I know these places well. I have worked in every one of them.

I know that if I am doing a small job on a road, I will have to put in silt traps and silt ponds and make sure that there is no run-off. The process is perfect in that regard and the same applies to those harvesting trees. If there is a stream, they must ensure that they have a way of crossing it without even taking the wheels of the tracks through it. There are ways in which one can do that. I promise that all those things are in place. If the Minister of State has other issues with that aspect of forestry, they can be raised on another day. We will give her a hearing and if she has a sensible story or a proposal that makes sense, we will support her. We are looking for her support on felling licences for trees and forests that have been cut down once or twice before and are ready to be harvested for a third time. Nothing could be cleaner or better in terms of how they are operated. If I spilled a drop of oil on a road and an inspector came along, I would be castigated over it. When I was in that business, one had to keep a spill kit in one's machine to ensure that any spills were cleaned up straight away. That is how perfect and crystal clear these operations are now.

It is not fair or right for the Minister of State to state that the Government is doing something about this situation by not caving in to our request for a timeline. There must be a timeline. There are timelines for building a house or a factory. This is the very same but it is far more serious because there is a system in place whereby a harvester cuts the wood and a forwarder picks it up. Those businesses are idling because they do not have a felling licence. A haulier collects the wood and brings it to the likes of Grainger's in Enniskeane or Medite in Clonmel and they supply places such as Palfab Limited and the pallet factory in Clondrohid. All those businesses are operating but they depend on one thing. They are asking us to ensure felling licences are granted within a reasonable timeframe.

If the Government does not accede to amendment No. 1, it would be far better for Deputies to go on holidays. There was less harm being done when the Dáil was in recess than there is now. We suffered through the discussion last night on penalty points for fishermen. As I stated, the only lorries that go through Kilgarvan taking produce to the outside world are those bringing fish or timber or a few cattle to the mart. They are the only products we have. We do not have oil or gold or similar resources. These are the things we have. I am lucky to have the Minister and the Minister of State present. This is their time to grant felling licences and do something to ensure a fair licensing system is put in place but if they will not put a deadline or a timeframe in place, they can forget about it.

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