Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for facilitating this debate. I acknowledge the presence of Deputy Cahill, whose excellent stewardship of the agriculture committee has brought us to this point. I compliment him on his hard work and welcome him to the Upper House. It is nice to be upgraded occasionally. I am glad Deputy Cahill is here. My contribution will be brief and I will not dwell too much on the report and its 12 points or recommendations.

There has been no cohesion in respect of afforestation. Historically, there has been severe neglect and underdevelopment in the sector. Apart from the environmental benefits of forestry and what the previous speaker said, which I must agree with, the reality in the plan is that we would have 8,000 ha and we are not halfway there.

There was mention earlier of the one-stop shop approach. I recently had a good discussion with a farmer in my constituency - if Senators could be said to have constituencies, mine would be Cork South-West - who planted about 60 acres of forestry many years ago. When I asked him what he would replant and what the issues were, he said first that there was no incentive. Second, he said there was no encouragement at Department level or any other level. He said the financial reward he had got for his 60 acres of plantation had been hard-earned and very slow in coming. This man is not getting any younger. He said he would have to see significant changes to entice him or perhaps his son to go back to afforestation. There has been mention of ash dieback, the spruce bark beetle, etc., but we must grasp the nettle. I know that the Minister of State is doing extremely good work, but afforestation does not happen overnight. There has to be planning, and the planning at this stage will not reap benefits until maybe a decade or 15 years down the road.

The other issues the farmer to whom I spoke mentioned to me related to licences and the various authorities involved. He said that at one stage when the trees were being harvested, cut and taken to the timber mill, the big logs on double-trailered lorries, the council and his neighbours were on to him about the damage to the road, so he said he was losing at every angle. There were neighbours falling out with him. If there was proper cohesion from day one, I think these issues would be resolved. As mentioned, a one-stop shop is necessary, and the sooner we embark on that the better.

This report is an essential step. I accept that the Minister of State's heart is in the right place. I accept that the Chairman of the committee, Deputy Cahill, has passion for and knowledge of all issues related to farming, and I welcome that. At departmental level and ministerial level, however, we must, without putting this too bluntly, pull out the finger and get to work. If we do not, the next generation will not thank us.