Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There has been an issue around commodities globally and there has been an increase in costs in respect of building materials and fuel costs. Some of this is the recovering of declines, particularly in energy and fuel costs, where there would have been declines throughout 2020 on the 2019 prices, and some of that recovery is feeding into significant increases in prices now. However, there is an issue for the building industry; of that there is no doubt. Huge work has been done by the Minister in regard to the forestry issue. Twenty-one full-time ecologists have been recruited in regard to forestry licensing. Ten permanent forestry inspectors and additional administrative staff have been assigned to licensing and recruitment is to continue. We are very focused on this. There was a situation over a number of years with objections and so on, and the Oireachtas changed the legislation, as the Deputy knows. We are still conscious that we have an awful lot more to do.

See this speech in context