Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have dealt with this matter time and again at the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Minister of State cannot deny at this stage that the Department's performance in forestry licensing is putting many prospective foresters off planting. While we may have problems now, we are facing into major ones down the road because of this. We have an annual target of 8,000 ha, yet afforestation stands at only 2,200 ha this week. This is coupled with the snail's pace of the reconstitution and underplanting scheme, RUS. The Minister of State needs to recognise that she and the Department are failing.

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