Results 23,681-23,700 of 23,892 for speaker:Michael Healy-Rae

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: I am, but what I am aware of are the rules we have here, which state that when people plant land and get financial encouragement to do so, there is an obligation on them to replant that land.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: We have had different delays in the past, as the Deputy is well aware. We have had different problems with regard to-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: I am answering the question, if the Deputy will allow me the opportunity. We have had different problems over the last number of years. We are addressing all of those problems. What happened this year is that there were a couple of internal problems earlier this year, which have now been sorted out and about which I would hope the Deputy is aware. We had over 120 applications for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: No. Many of our mills were only operating at 60% capacity. I know that from speaking to mill operators, but they have the ability to deal with the additional windblown material. I will put it the Deputy this way; they are busy enough and will be getting busier because of the fact I stated earlier, which is that, today, 95% of the harvesting equipment in Ireland is working on windblown...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: That is double what we had this time last year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: It is, but will the Deputy acknowledge it is exactly double what we had this day last year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: I deal in the here and now. It is double what we had last year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: It is like asking is that half-full or half-empty.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: We have a backlog of people who have approvals. I will tell the Deputy exactly what I am doing about those. Every one of them is getting phone calls from me personally.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: Phone calls. I am saying they have licences that have been approved for particular lengths of time. They are getting calls early in the morning and late at night. I am having very friendly calls with them. I will explain this to the Deputy. Some of them are telling me that personal reasons, family issues and different things that have happened mean they are not able to go ahead at this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: Five years. I am answering their questions. I will be straight with the Deputy. If I am asked a question that I am not able to answer, I get back to them with an answer. It is a tedious operation. There are an awful lot of them. There are 520 people who have a licence, but I am getting through them. It is good for them to hear from a person who is saying that they have a licence and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: The Deputy has a very polite way of putting it. I would very much like to answer that question. I have been maligned an awful lot in that things have been attributed to me that I never said. What has been said about me is that I am interested in planting deep peatland. I never said any such thing. It is a great thing when I look at every one of the members because they know what I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: Again, I appreciate the people I am looking at because they understand this and get it, unlike a lot of other people, including those who misquoted me today. I will tell members exactly who I am talking about. The chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council repeated an inaccuracy, which was that I had said we should plant on deep peat soils. I never said any such thing. What I said in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: At Gortaganny.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: Yes, he did. He is an excellent person. As the Deputy knows, his head is on the right way around and-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: It is being looked at at the moment. We will keep the Deputy informed about that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: We thank the Deputy for his concern about it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: No. If the Deputy did his sums and figured it out, it could be up to €10,000. I will explain it this way. There are a number of different payments.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: There is money for clearing it-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Ash Dieback and Other Forestry Issues: Discussion (16 Jul 2025)

Michael Healy-Rae: I will add the two of them together. It is double what it was. It was €1,000 and now it is €2,000, but if one adds the money for clearing it to the money for replanting it, and includes the new money, which is up to €5,000 a hectare, one could actually be talking about €10,000 per hectare to the farmers who are affected, which is a considerable payment. It is...