Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I raise the really important issue of forestry, particularly following the recent storm, Storm Éowyn. It caused massive damage right across the west, the north west, the midlands, and it destroyed thousands of hectares of forestry. These farmers planted under Government advice, encouragement and incentives. Indeed, these farmers followed Teagasc advice around what to plant and where to plant. This was no Ponzi scheme and yet following the storm, the farmers woke up with no forest in many cases and their pensions in real jeopardy. There has been a treble-whammy here as well because there has been a huge lost in growth of their trees, obviously increased harvesting costs as well as trees that have fallen, and the significantly lower cost of their product at the sawmill. Will the Minister please prioritise the issue of the felling licence? It is a bizarre situation where we have trees rotting on the ground and yet farmers cannot get in and salvage those trees because of delays in felling licences. Will he please expedite and prioritise farmers who have suffered as a result of windblown trees? The Minister also needs to consider a financial package in relation to this. Due to the fact that the price of the lumber the farmer is receiving is significantly lowered now and due to the reconstitution and the replanting costs, in many cases it is not viable for farmers. Will the Minister please consider a scheme that will support farmers in this really difficult time? We have listened to a debate here on farming. We need to look at farming as a viable industry because the fact is that the profits of the farming sector are landing in the factories, the supermarkets and the sawmills. The farmer is the last in the line and is really struggling. It is a big issue and we need an agrifood regulator with teeth to address the issue of viability and fair price for farmers.

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