Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am completely opposed to this deal between Gresham House and Coillte. It is nothing other than a sell-out and a further erosion of our sovereignty. It is an absolute disgrace to see political parties in this House supporting such a deal . They are letting down their own people, farmers included. I share the concerns of Macra na Feirme, which knows that young farmers are going to be locked out in terms of land access. Generational renewal is a real issue, but the Government does not care. It does not seem to worry about that.

The problems that continue to plague the forestry sector, particularly the private forestry sector, are so embedded within the system as to almost make a person despair of any kind of improvements being made. I wish to highlight not only the double standard but the hypocrisy that plagues the Government's response to this crisis within the forestry sector. As I pointed out last week, SEEFA, one of the main forestry representative bodies in the country, was left begging for a response to its request for immediate consultation on the Gresham House deal and the delays that are happening in the context of the new forestry plan. The Minister of State can come in here and waffle all she likes about how things are improving. They are not improving. She can waffle about how she recognises that licences need to be dealt with faster and more efficiently but where is she to be found when SEEFA, as one of the main stakeholders in this entire process, calls for consultation? This Government's commitment to the forestry sector is the political equivalent of ash dieback. It is rotten to the core and it is highly damaging.

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