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

I thank Deputy Martin Kenny for introducing this Bill, which I fully support. It is only a few weeks ago that we were discussing forestry here in great detail. The Minister of State was not prepared to take any amendments at the time. It looks like she is in the same frame of mind right now, that it is her way or the highway. Does she realise that there are 12,000 jobs at risk in rural Ireland? Forestry and timber are critical for anyone who cares about rural development and rural jobs in Ireland. There are 500 jobs in my own constituency with GP Woods in Enniskeane in west Cork and its associated companies. This is a €2.3 billion industry.

The industry estimates that 2 million tonnes of timber are held up in the appeals and licensing application process in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This is enough timber to build 100,000 houses. Timber shortages are close at hand. There will be an immediate problem for Ireland's housebuilding programme when timber starts to run short. Imports are expensive and hard to come by right now, with strong demand for timber worldwide. GP Woods has managed to source some supply and it will start to arrive next month, which goes against everything they have stood for. It is being shipped across Europe, there is an environmental impact and it supports jobs outside our own country.

The appeals debacle is also holding up many afforestation projects and farmers are the collateral damage. They are stuck in the middle. They cannot plant and they cannot harvest. The Government and the Green Party cannot hit their tree planting targets while all this is going on. Delays are killing the tree planting programme. Imagine that 1,500 ha will be planted this year when the Government's target was meant to be 8,000 ha per annum. The impact on our climate change goals is substantial. Tree planting 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 have not been planted to soak it up. We need to use more wood and the way that we get it is to plant our own forest and to stimulate more use of wood in our built environment. It is critical for legislation to be implemented quickly and then backed up by resources. The Department must be ready and able to implement the reforms contained within the Bill immediately once it is approved by the Oireachtas. There can be no delays in making this happen. Will the Minister of State assure us that this is under way?

The fee is critical and must be introduced immediately. She must ensure that all necessary resources are in place to make the reforms work. Legislation is no good unless people are hired to enable the output of the FAC to increase. I understand that the committee is in the process of hiring additional personnel. It is critical for this to happen immediately and for the numbers to be sufficient.

There is a belief in the sector that at least ten extra people are needed. The forestry appeals committee, FAC, should be targeting getting through more than 20 appeals per week instead of the current 20 appeals per month. The concept of the FAC meetings in divisions is critical. The running of multiple divisions in parallel is what will achieve the throughput. The other important reform is the removal of an automatic right to an oral hearing. The FAC should decide that oral hearings are required in only a minority of cases.

In the longer term, we must move away from the licensing system in forestry and change the regulatory model. It should not be necessary to apply for a new licence at every stage in the process. That is a waste of time and resources, and it is inhibiting the development of the sector. In other countries there is greater reliance on a forest management plan that is approved, implemented and monitored. It is a far more efficient system. The Department has failed the industry badly in this area for the past number of years. This industry is coming through the Covid-19 crisis well, yet it is being damaged by our failure to provide an adequate regulatory platform. Without the platform being right, the industry cannot grow and prosper.

The reason I stayed in the House tonight, because I have to return to the Mizen Peninsula, is that I want to fight tooth and nail for 500 jobs in west Cork. There are 12,000 throughout the nation. GP Wood has run an excellent company in the past number of years in west Cork. It is employing people from Bandon, Dunmanway, Drimoleague, Skibbereen and Bantry. There are also the suppliers and the lorry drivers. These jobs are in jeopardy at present, yet we are talking about importing timber into the country. That is phenomenal. I also support every farmer who has suffered due to serial objectors. Their intention, I presume, was to save forestry, but they have had the opposite effect. Only 1,500 ha will be sown this year in this country instead of 8,000 ha. The people who are objecting should hang their heads in shame, given what they have cost us in this country. Farmers have been great supporters of the growth of trees, but they are totally opposed to it at present until all these measures are rectified. With jobs on the line as well, I certainly will support this Bill.

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