Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. He lives in the heart of Wicklow, the garden of Ireland and a great place for forestry. I am glad he is here to report on plans to increase newly planted forests by 8,000 ha per year under the targets contained in Climate Action Plan 2019. I want to focus in on this. It is an area for which the Minister of State is responsible. If these or any targets in the climate action plan are going to be reached, it is important that the relevant Ministers keep the focus and continue to report back to the Houses.I have no doubt the Minister of State will do that.

It is also important we incentivise climate action, with "incentivise" being the key word. We must incentivise and encourage people to buy into climate action. This scheme presents great opportunities for agriculture but particularly for forestry and peatlands, on which I will focus. We also need educational programmes, of which the Minister of State is conscious, and areas of communication with respect to forestry. I take this opportunity to thank Teagasc for its contribution. I have attended a number of its workshops. It runs Talking Timber programme events throughout the country, of which the Minister of State will be aware. They are well advertised in the IrishFarmers' Journal and the forestry sector. People are putting on their boots and going on these walks, which is important.

In terms of knowledge transfer, many young farmers wish to consider putting a few hectares into forestry. We need to consider that in the context of biodiversity and biomass. There is a range of services related to forestry that would indirectly benefit everyone. I mentioned energy and biomass. The Government has spent billions of euro on forestry since the 1980s. We must send out a strong message that we are interested in promoting sustainable forestry management, which is a major issue for many people. There is much dispute about that in parts of the country with respect to the mix of broadleaf planting and the amenity aspect. Coillte has bought into forestry providing added value in terms of an amenity. I am aware the Minister of State was involved in such a scheme in the Dublin Mountains.

In terms of achieving these targets, has the Minister of State considered using Bord na Móna's estate of approximately 80,000 ha for forestry? There are restoration issues related to remediation and rehabilitation works but that is an important aspect of realising those targets.

Has the Minister of State considered or will he reconsider the issue of work permits? We hear reports of the forestry sector wanting to bring workers into the country, which may require an increase in the number of work permits. We must deal with training, education, funding and grants. If we want to reach these targets, it is important we incentivise farmers to get into forestry.