Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Martin Kenny for bringing this Bill to the House. I support it as it is an important Bill. I listened to the Minister of State and it was difficult to know exactly what she meant. On one level she seemed to agree with the principle of what Deputy Kenny was proposing but on another level, she claimed it was too complicated and would be a parallel system, etc. She spoke of a system that was working and of forestry policy, but we do not have a forestry policy. We have state aid, grant aid and tax incentives. We follow the money, not the policy, because we do not have policy. We are told we need to plant more trees, as if that in itself would solve the problem, without thinking at all about the settlement patterns we have in this country. We cannot imagine that it is like Scotland, France or the vast areas in certain countries where nobody lives. We need a proper forestry policy that takes into consideration where people live.

The Minister of State spoke of 15% broadleaf. When the European Commission approved the state aid requirement in order that people could be paid grant aid to plant forestry, it requested 30% broadleaf. Up to a year ago, the Government was telling the Commission that it would be 30% so I am fascinated to hear it is now 15%. I raised the issue of Sitka planting in Leitrim with a very senior EU official and he said that Leitrim is a national sacrifice zone for Sitka spruce, which is a phrase I have used many times and needs to be said again. Those were his words, not mine, and they are as powerful as one can get. One of the reasons we need planning permission for forestry is that in 2019, two one-off houses were granted planning permission in County Leitrim. I do not know how many hectares of forestry were involved, though I am sure Deputy Kenny would, but hundreds if not thousands of hectares were planted the same year.

Staying with the EU, the Minister of State mentioned the environmental impact assessment directive.

9 o’clock

One thing we do not do here is look at the cumulative effects. As the Minister of State knows, the Commission wants to take Ireland to court for that, which is once again an indication that we have no policy. I am fascinated to hear a Green Minister of State say that the Aarhus Convention is working. I spent 15 years in Brussels and all I ever heard from citizens was that there was no proper access to justice and that part of the Aarhus Convention.

We have no forestry policy and that has created two groups, those who are totally opposed to planting and those who fully support it. They cannot find any middle ground and there needs to be middle ground because we need to plant trees for many different reasons. We need to keep our sawmills moving and plants such as Masonite in Leitrim need timber. Equally, we need to involve farmers and to promote agroforestry, especially under Pillar 2. I believe that is what the Minister of State will do. When we talk about planting more trees, we need to take into consideration where they are being planted and the impact that they have on the landscape and the people who live there. The reason there is such a visceral hatred of trees in parts of Leitrim is because people's homes are being surrounded by Sitka spruce. They are marching across the landscape and people feel as if there is nothing they can do.

The Minister of State has a significant job ahead of her. Planning permission for forestry will form an important part of that proper forestry policy that takes into consideration where people live and who will be involved, such as farmers, and that the incentives will go to farmers. The Ceann Comhairle is being generous with time. I cannot impress enough on the Minister of State that she has a difficult job to bring these groups of people together. If she can manage that, she will do a good job, and Deputy Martin Kenny's proposal is a good place to start.

See this speech in context