Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to comment on the section and the amendment. I can understand where Senator Barrett is coming from with this amendment. However, in reading section 26, one needs to decipher between where 26(1)(a) states "felled or otherwise removed without a licence" - that is one issue - and the other issue, which is "felled with a licence". I would fully support Senator Barrett's amendment if it was specifically referring to "felled without a licence". I understand that under the 1946 legislation, which is being amended in this legislation, a felling licence was accompanied by the condition that the land had to be replanted. That is all well and good, but a number of issues with having a condition to replant land are at stake here from an agricultural point of view, particularly as regards agricultural economics and Food Harvest 2020.

The condition to have to replant the land could create a lack of incentive for farmers to undertake a planting programme. It runs contrary to the proper use of agricultural land across the country and to the objectives of the Food Harvest 2020 programme which is trying to increase land available for agriculture. There are competing demands.