Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To be clear, this is a bad deal for Ireland. It is spelled out. It is a bad deal for Ireland because it will increase the price of land. More importantly, it reflects a complete lack of vision on behalf of the Government. There is no strategy. Forget about strategy; there is a lack of vision. There is an opportunity here to bring communities with us and what is the Government doing instead? It is isolating them and alienating them. It is completely unacceptable but it is no surprise at all, given there is a coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and their ideological partners in the Green Party.

Communities are being isolated. Farmers are being isolated. The price of land is being driven up. There is a real opportunity in forestry, and the Government does not have to imagine where communities are, because there has been a Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. The Department has consulted with communities. It has spelled it out in the public attitudes presented in the survey on forestry. Communities want to play their part. They want forestry in urban and rural areas. They want it to be alive. They want a richness in biodiversity. Instead, what are Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party doing? They are selling it off for corporate profit and shame on them all.

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