John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome to the House and commend the Minister of State, Deputy Hayes. There is no better man on this issue. He not only has the capacity to deal with it but also has a personal interest in and grá for the topic. That is the kind of focus we require when it comes to a challenge of this nature. It would be wrong not to have regard to the work of his predecessor, our much-beloved late colleague and former Minister of State, Shane McEntee.We are grateful for the prompt intervention on the part of the late Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Shane McEntee, and of the Department officials, which the current Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, and the officials have continued in an attempt to meet this challenge head on.

As others have said, the ash plant has an iconic position in Irish history, folklore, heritage, sport and culture. It always struck me as bizarre that even prior to the problem of ash dieback we imported such a volume of ash because it is so central to national games. It underscores and reminds us that, where possible. we should at all times endeavour to establish import substitution, a phrase that was popular in the 1980s, especially in the area of forestry and food. That has an economic, ecological and environmental advantage because it cuts down on air miles and the carbon footprint. We should have been more alert to this as a policy through the decades. I am not laying responsibility for this at the Minister of State’s door.

The Minister of State’s report and statement are as comprehensive and thorough an account as we have had on any topic over the past four years. I commend him and the officials on that. I am often first into the charge to wear an ash plant off a few lads if I think it necessary here but fair play is good sport. We are on top of it and are not operating in isolation. It is good to hear about the measures taken abroad and I hope there will be a breakthrough in developing a disease resistant strain to re-establish our ash plantations with vigour. Perhaps we could get in behind that in a robust way to support it through a policy platform and grant aid to restore the ash plantations and forests across the country.

As an aside, I defer to a man who is an expert in these matters, Senator Comiskey, who tells me that if one can see out through the branches of an ash tree whose leaves are not fully filled in, it is time enough to sow the potatoes. I was heartened by that at the weekend and I checked and managed to get a few spuds in and did not feel too bad that the ash tree had not come into full bloom.

I am glad that Senator Quinn broadened the debate to deal with biodiversity, habitat and the other connections within our forestry, and the delicate balance of nature. That is an important issue. This is not just a question of ash trees; it has implications for many other species of flora and fauna. In the spirit of that point, I take the opportunity to ask a question now rather than put it down for a Commencement debate. If I had raised it with the Leader of the House, he would have said the Minister of State with responsibility for forestry will be in the House in an hour and to take it up with him. I do not expect a comprehensive answer to the question today, which deals with access to our forests as amenity.

There is alarm and nothing short of consternation in my community in Portarlington that Coillte has put Rathleash-Tierhogar wood, near Killenard, up for sale. The consultation amounted to someone going around to people’s doors with a leaflet to state Coillte was putting the forest up for sale. That is not meaningful consultation. This is an ancient wood, with many of its trees aged between 50 and 80 years. The thought that these beech and sycamore trees would go up in smoke as firewood is abhorrent, particularly in the context of this debate about salvaging our forestry, our ash plantations and their value. I accept we must manage our forests and that many of them are commercial plantations sown for harvesting. This is a natural amenity, a nature reserve which is home to the red squirrel and to over 30 species of birds, not to mention the wild garlic and bluebells that carpet the forest floor at this time of year.

It is not correct procedure that Coillte, on behalf of the State or on the Minister of State’s behalf, who represents the citizen, can unilaterally put a piece of forestry up for sale by private treaty when we do not know who will buy it or for what purpose. Surely that is not the kind of accountable or transparent process we require? Where possible, we should always seek to work in tandem and co-operation with communities to vest such a reserve by a long-term lease in the community which could work to become its custodian, to preserve it, to ensure public access and to ensure it is retained as a community amenity.

There is a broader policy issue at stake that someone can buy State forestry without our knowing who the buyer is, or his or her intention, and the only consultation is a leaflet dropped through the letter box stating it is for sale. I do not expect the Minister of State to give an immediate response but there is a policy issue and protocol to be addressed not just in respect of the Portarlington woodland, but around the country.