Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Other countries in the EU managed to get around this in terms of what was announced and the wait for state aid approval. I am not sure about the argument the Minister of State has made. At the end of the day, we are nearly into June and do not have a forestry programme. Planting season will be almost finished before we have a programme. People are still waiting. This is leading to a worsening of confidence in the sector, a sector which was already bad enough to begin with. Does the Minister State envisage that the 8,000 ha target will be met?

Regarding licensing, there have been major issues with that on an almost annual basis. Can the Minister of State give confidence to the sector that when the new forestry programme is in place we will not see backlogs and major issues with licensing? Can the she give a commitment to the sector that those issues will not arise again when the new forestry programme eventually comes to fruition?

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