Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Senator Gavan addressed many of the issues about the workers that we spoke about with a unified voice in this House. We are all in favour of the ending of mink farming, but we are concerned about the workers and how they will be treated. As I have said repeatedly on all Stages of this Bill, there is a concern not just in the short term for the workers in mink farming who are directly affected, but also about the precedent it sets for workers with the just transition.

In the medium to long term, we will watch how the forestry provisions of this Bill are implemented. It goes back to the fact that there was no pre-legislative scrutiny and whether this legislation is coming from a good place, which I do not doubt. The Minister of State, Senator Hackett, is committed to environmental issues, forestry and native woodlands, but we have to future-proof legislation because there might be a different Minister in the future.

The concerns raised by the Irish Environmental Network are all legitimate. I hope they will not be realised and that we will not see woodlands being planted on peatland or on riparian habitats. We should not remove hunting grounds for birds of prey by planting all along motorways. We have heard repeatedly that the provisions are for small-scale planting. However, it could be 20 m wide and I have heard nothing to convince me that there will be no limit on the planting of native woodland under this exemption. I hope the concerns raised will be addressed in the regulations. We will be watching not just how the workers on mink farms are treated, but also to make sure that regulations for forestry address the legitimate concerns of the Irish Environmental Network.