Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is welcome. I welcome also the committee Chair, Deputy Cahill. I thank him and all the members of the committee for their work and endeavours in the important area of forestry as part of the Oireachtas joint committee and for the publication of the report. I know that all committees are extremely busy. To have picked this subject shows the importance the committee feels it has and the role it plays in the area of climate mitigation and climate change endeavours. I also welcome the Minister of State's own commitment to forestry issues. I know that the past while has been a difficult period for forestry licensing and that she is getting to grips with that. There has been progress recently, but that is still a concern, and a certain amount of damage was done in respect of people planning for the future. That is regrettable, as is the issue of objections. No more than in other areas of Irish life, there are people who tend to object on a range of issues, unfortunately.

A number of years ago the issue of forestry was prevalent in my part of the woods. The issues were clear-felling, eutrophication and run-off. Thankfully, Coillte has changed its policies on clear-felling, and there has been a significant improvement in that regard. Previously, forestry, particularly coniferous forestry, was unfortunately given a bad reputation. I agree with other speakers about the importance of the forestry sector, in respect of both the commercial value of timber and the role it plays in job creation. In my area, the ECC plant in Cornamona, Connemara, employs so many people in the Galway-Mayo area. The native woodlands in particular are, as others have said, good for people's mental health and recreation. The enhancement and use of those through trails, picnic areas and viewing areas are greatly beneficial to society as a whole, and that can be encouraged.

Ash dieback is highlighted in the report. I remember being at a meeting of our parliamentary party when the late Minister, Shane McEntee, informed us of the issue of ash dieback being discovered here in Ireland. The impact ash dieback has had is visible in the beautiful ash trees across our countryside. We now see many of them raggledy and in some cases dying. I know that Teagasc and the Department are doing research work on providing more resilient ash trees, which would be very important.

The Minister of State has pushed forward the Mackinnon report. The committee has examined the report's recommendations and looked to see them implemented. It is important that reports that are initiated are actually put to use and the recommendations in them are put in place. I have said before that there is in some quarters a resistance to tree-planting among farmers, and we need to encourage people to change their mindset. To some farmers, planting an area of trees means they are nearly giving up on that area of land, and that is regrettable. I encourage people to go out and to plant trees with their children and their grandchildren to show a legacy for future generations. A lot of good work is being done on the recommendations. I hope the recommendations will be implemented.

I will hand over to Senator Burke.