Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Despite unprecedented attention for forestry at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, it seems we are no closer to a solution in a crisis that affects not only rural Ireland and producers but has the potential to derail any housing recovery. Zero progress has been made on afforestation, with fewer than ten licences issuing each week and a two-year waiting list. I was probably naive when I became a member of the committee 15 months ago and I heard the scale of the problems in the sector. I said it would be sorted out within a year. Like many Members today, it is déjà vu. We are still discussing the same problems.

The afforestation sector is on its knees and Irish farmers' confidence in forestry is completely undermined. The single biggest issue is getting farmers to plant trees. This is as a result of the delay in licensing. There is too much uncertainty and bureaucracy for them. Farmers are losing millions of euro in lost timber revenue because they cannot harvest when they want.A total of 700,000 tonnes of logs have been lost to licensing delays in the past two years. This has hit forestry owners and sawmills. As a card-carrying member of the Government, it gives me no satisfaction to say the forestry sector is rapidly losing people because of the Government's inability to deliver licences.

The Government prides itself on its green agenda and an ambitious climate action plan but unless we urgently address the forestry crisis we are no more than disreputable used car sales people if we try to talk about climate action. The climate action plan will be undermined completely if we do not see a huge increase in new planting. Each year, we miss out on millions of tonnes of carbon sequestration. There is a yawning gap between our ambition for tree planting and what it is delivering. The industry stakeholders and the joint Oireachtas committee which is so ably led by my colleague, Deputy Cahill, have not been found wanting when it comes to offering solutions. As Deputy Carthy, my colleague on the committee, said, we stood at the gates of Leinster House last week with exasperated forestry producers. These are people who would much prefer to be knee deep in a forest than standing at the gates of Leinster House. They came there to stand, just as people involved in peat came to stand, because, unfortunately, the Government, and, I will add, my Government, is failing these people.

We need to completely revamp our regulation of forestry and fast-track changes to the system, specifically with regard to licensing. The process is not fit for purpose and needs to be comprehensively reformed. The Department needs to get serious about forestry and support the sector. We need to find a way to meet the Government's ambitious tree planting targets and our climate goals. We need a new forestry programme that will encourage and incentivise farmers to plant trees. We need to re-energise and reward our forest sector. We need to start supporting it rather than holding it back. I plead with the Minister of State to take to heart the crisis in the sector. We have too much to lose with inaction at this time. I appeal to the Minister of State to please resolve the forestry issue.

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