Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is a lot of fanfare and much hay is being made about this proposal to allow a hectare of native woodland to be planted without needing to get planning permission. Farmers have been planting broadleaf trees in corners of fields and around houses for shelter and continue to do so. Is the Minister telling me that what they were doing was wrong? He is suggesting that they do not have to apply for planning permission. I think they would do this anyway without the Minister telling them. Could they be helped with a grant? Could they get some funding towards this? Everything you do today costs money - plants and work. Is it the Green Party's intention as part of Government to subsidise or help these people to plant broadleaf trees?

If there is not something like that coming down the line, what we are doing in here is wasting time. Farmers and landowners have been planting broadleaf trees since before we were here, going back to the foundation of the State. They were always doing it. They did not have to be told they could do it without planning.

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