Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I very much thank my fellow Senators for their contributions this evening and for staying on so late on a Friday evening.I welcome that there has been a great deal of engagement on this legislation and that it has progressed. I was happy to accept those amendments I accepted.

The Bill addresses the need for an efficient appeals system for forestry. There is an urgent need for the changes proposed in this Bill. The crisis in the sector deserves no less.

I am confident that this Bill with its new amendments, together with improvements to the licensing process, will lead to significantly more licences being issued. This is a first step in resolving the issue we face. We can then turn our attention to the new forestry programme and our forestry strategy going forward. It will need to deliver a model of forestry that serves the environmental, social and economic needs of our society. I am committed to consulting widely to put such model in place.

I thank Members for their time and wish them a safe journey home.