Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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37. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is satisfied that current afforestation rates are sufficient in view of the requirement to significantly expand climate change mitigation measures as part of commitments under the Paris climate accords; if current rates of felling are negating the already low level of afforestation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41676/17]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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There is a lot of lipservice paid to the commitment to deal with climate change but often not the radical action that is required to actually do something about it. Nowhere is that more true than in the area of forestry. What practical plans have we got to significantly ramp up the afforestation programme from its current pitifully low level? We are planting only approximately 6,000 ha a year against an official target of 10,000 ha? There is a pitifully low level of forest cover in this State.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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The Deputy should come and live beside me. It is all trees.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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These are the actual figures.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Planting figures for 2015 and 2016 combined actually exceed the targets set out in the forestry programme 2014-2020. The Department is involved in a detailed mid-term review of that forestry programme and is engaging with stakeholders in its development.

It should be noted that each year the Department has provided sufficient budget to fund the stated afforestation targets. However, as we are all aware, there is intense competition for planting land driven by a number of different factors, not least expansion in other agricultural sectors and this is affecting demand for the afforestation scheme.

I am convinced that forestry remains an extremely attractive option for landowners and can serve as a complementary income stream for farmers. This is because the Department funds 100% of the cost of establishing the new forest and guarantees an annual premium of up to €635 per hectare payable each year for 15 years, tax free. Forestry is also compatible with other agriculture schemes and farmers can continue to receive their basic payment on land which is also planted.

I recognise the importance of ensuring that the benefits of the schemes are clearly communicated and well understood by landowners. I have established a group jointly consisting of the Department, industry and Teagasc to specifically examine the marketing and promotion of the schemes and this group has met twice already, as recently as yesterday. This group will come forward with a series of initiatives in the very near future on communicating the benefits of forestry to farmers to ensure that landowners are considering forestry as a viable land use option on some or part of their land.

On the subject of deforestation, as the Deputy should be aware, under current legislation forest owners require a felling licence before felling can take place and where clearfelling is undertaken a condition of this felling licence is that the site must be replanted. In a small number of cases, deforestation is allowed but these are rare and exceptional circumstances, the reasons for which are set out in my Department's felling and reforestation policy document. Examples of situations where forests might not be replanted after clearfelling include overriding environmental reasons or for the erection of ESB lines. Therefore, given the exceptional nature of these activities, I do not believe that clearfelling is negating the overall level of new planting that is taking place across the country.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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We used to have a target of 17% of forest cover from the current position of 11%, which is one of the lowest in Europe. The average forest cover in Europe is 30% but we are at a pathetic 11%. Previously, the target was to reach 17% by 2030. Now that has been pushed out to 18% by 2045 because the Council for Forest Research and Development, COFORD, said that in order to reach those targets we need to be planting 10,000 ha a year, minimum, with a sustained yield. We are averaging approximately 6,000 ha. The Minister of State says it might go up as high as 7,000 ha this year. That is still well short of the 10,000 ha. That is against a pathetic failure to meet the targets we need to meet if we are to get anywhere close to those further targets. There is anecdotal evidence, which needs to be examined, that felling is happening too early. It is happening at 20 years rather than best forest practice of between 35 and 50 years. If that is happening, even the afforestation that is taking place is being undermined by felling too early which will also slow down our ability to meet the targets.

Can the Minister of State confirm that the ESB imports 40,000 utility poles a year? We cannot even provide poles for the ESB, another indication of our failure in this area. That is how poor our forestry sector is. What will we do to ramp it up?

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy's point about the premature felling. It is probably not 20 years but 25 years. Teagasc and the Department have jointly rolled out several initiatives. There are Talking Timber events to make people aware of them and the forestry felling tool on the Department's website which indicates the volume increase which equates to value increase if the farmer leaves the plantation alone or thins it at year 25 and leaves it to year 35. This optimises the climate change mitigation capacity and the investment by the State in the afforestation programme. There is an acute awareness of the need to do that. Farmers have tended not to be experts on forestry and that is why we are trying to make them aware. Teagasc is rolling out a series of clinics over the autumn. A total of 40,000 people connect with Teagasc on training programmes. That is part of its continuing awareness campaign.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I welcome the fact the Minister of State has acknowledged that point and the need to address this but our approach to this issue needs to be more robust or aggressive. We are still falling way short. We are completely underutilising public land that could be developed and that would not be useful for other purposes. The McCarthy report suggested that Coillte has 0.5 million acres that might not be suitable for narrowly commercial forestry but in terms of long-term forestry to meet climate change targets and so on, it is just sitting there and could be used. We should be examining those 0.5 million acres. Are motorways planted? We should consider other land that is not being used for other things. Are we planting it? Have we got a plan to get up to the 10,000 ha of planting?

There are young people in my area who are so exercised about the issue of climate change that they have gone to the local council and said they want to get out and plant trees. We need programmes to encourage that kind of initiative and the use of public land as well as trying to encourage and incentivise farmers.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I come from a county that has almost 18% cover and I am aware of its value notwithstanding some of the issues and the sort of impressions people have. There was a good focus in last week's Irish Farmers' Journalshowing some of the economic and environmental benefits.

We must eliminate the fear factor for landowners so that they can look at options for their land and assess its value. Then they can consider whether, for example, if they plant one variety, it will yield them an income that they can use to enhance the rest of the land. We need a change in the mindset. The Deputy said that parts of Europe have an average of 30%. Someone who is a forestry owner or owns land for forestry is called a farmer over there. It is almost a signal of failure here, and that is something we must address, although I do not suggest that can be changed overnight. The target is 18% and it is to be used as part of our effort to combat climate change and is something on which the Government will focus, no matter who is in it.