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

Coillte also has a strong agenda in terms of biodiversity and we will be engaging with Coillte in that respect. There is a legitimate argument about the nature of the trees that have been grown over the years but we have to follow through on commitments made. One of the difficulties is that many involved in farming have lost confidence in the programme because of the series of objections and the difficulties in felling and getting licences and so on. The system has to be overhauled. Additional resources have been put into the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, including ecologists, forestry inspectors and additional administrative staff. A team of 27 ecologists has been recruited to deal with licensing, which is an increase from only two 18 months ago. There were only two ecologists dealing with this 18 months ago and there are 27 now. Licensing this year will be significantly up on 2020. We have issued more licences to date this year than in the whole of 2020, with 3,045 this year compared to 2,592 for all of 2020. Some €723 million of carbon tax funding will be allocated to a flagship agri-environmental climate measure. That is in addition to the Pillar 2 scheme to encourage farmers to farm in a greener, more sustainable way. That is carbon tax funding that Deputy McDonald is against. I do not know how we are supposed to do all these things if we do not have some funding. Deputy Boyd Barrett and Deputy Barry are against it-----

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