Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The forestry strategy in Ireland has always been geared in the wrong direction. A core weakness has been the failure to look after our national parks and native woodlands. Overgrazing by deer and sheep and infestation by invasive species like rhododendron are the norm in many of our native woodlands. While the forestry industry plays an important role in the economy, our forestry strategy cannot avoid the environmental impact of placing huge swathes of Sitka spruce on our hillsides.

Our lack of respect for our biodiversity is astonishing. The curlew is reckoned to be at risk of extinction in less than a decade and a quarter of all bird species in Ireland are disappearing. Anyone who walks in a spruce plantation will tell of the utter silence as you walk through the trees, the orange carpet of fallen leaves the only sight among bare trunks. There are no mosses on the ground, no plants and no birds. They are ecological death zones and there is more biodiversity and life on a motorway embankment. The volunteers and young people who take part in stepping stone forests in my constituency will tell the Minister why this is a flawed strategy. Biodiversity is the key and buy-in from communities is vital.

The Government’s target is annual afforestation of 8,000 ha. When the Green Party was in opposition, it advocated 15,000 ha. Not that it matters, because the Government has failed to exceed a quarter of its pathetic targets. We are planting the lowest level of forestry of any time in the past 80 years and the idea we can increase our forest cover from 11% to 18% by 2046 is laughable considering our poor performance and lack of ambition. The proposed joint venture between Coillte and Gresham House has resulted in increased Government targets for afforestation. There has also been a complete lack of public consultation and engagement regarding the potential negative consequences of large purchases of land arising from the venture on a social, economic and environmental basis. This is a time when we must be hypervigilant about what trees we plant and where we plant them. The Government must publish the new forestry strategy as a matter of urgency and that strategy must prioritise afforestation undertaken by local communities, farmers, landowners and public bodies. We need green corridors through our cities and villages.

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