Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the Green Party motion. It is good we can have an open and frank debate and that we have so much in common on this issue. Forestry and the production of timber have for far too long not been advanced in the way they should have been and have not provided the benefits to the country that they should.It is only in recent years that people have come to understand that forestry and the production of timber have a really positive impact on the environment in terms of the carbon it sequesters. We have failed over the decades to plant as much timber as we have should have done. I know there have been issues in certain areas. I have spoken on this in the past. I will get a call from someone in Leitrim and Cavan who will say there has been over-intensification in those areas and that it is pushing people out but we must recognise in the first instance the positive impact afforestation can and should have on our carbon sequestration.

More importantly, sawmills across this country are calling out for timber. We are importing a phenomenal amount of it. I know there is a necessity to import some because of the quality of the timber and the moisture content for certain construction elements. From a home production point of view, timber frame houses work really well. We live on an estate of 50 houses, all of which are timber frame with a block out relief. Those houses were built in 2004. The only issues that houses built in 2004 have is the fact that the level of insulation then was lower than it is now. If you talk to contractors and developers, you can see that they certainly recognise that the timber frame allows them to move more quickly. We have lots of issues around climate change and we certainly have one around housing. The Government's policy is aimed at building more houses more quickly and timber can play a significant role in that. We need a national strategy around the use of this really important resource that involves setting targets that will ensure we do not have to import the level of timber we have been importing.

I recognise that there are certain areas where we should be planting timber for the long term - not for felling or construction but because of its amenity features and its benefit to the environment in terms of older forests with native species, which are really important from a biodiversity perspective. It is important that they go on to provide that recreational amenity for our community. It is vital that we watch this as well so it is not just all about production for the construction sector.

This brings me to the concern that there has been an overconcentration on one type of timber. This is probably where a lot of the negativity has come from. People do not want to see these typical Douglas fir or pine trees. They do not look particularly attractive in certain areas. This is why it is important to have a national strategy that is based around certain species for certain areas where the ground type is suitable for a particular species' growth and meets the needs of local communities.

The Minister and I have spoken about this before. People who have invested in forestry have a real concern about the length of time it takes to get felling licences. They have issues around the necessity for a lot of different permissions. I know that if you start out with a commercial crop of timber, it is 20, 30 and in some cases, 40 years before it will be felled but there should be a process at the beginning that recognises that this is the ultimate goal and that you do not have to seek permissions all along the way, be they for thinning, putting a road through the plantation or necessitating a felling licence at a later stage. We cannot create those road blocks that disincentivise investment in the forestry sector. We have seen that we are not reaching the levels we want to reach. I know the Minister has been working really hard on this because European legislation is required, particularly in respect of the impact of felling on the environment and how that needs to be addressed so there are more ecologists. However, we need to see that continue. We also need a plan based on the amount of timber that is now reaching maturity and is ready to be felled because trees do not grow overnight. It should not be a surprise to anybody at departmental level that when timber reaches a certain age and size, it is ready for felling so we should not be having the kind of delays and backlogs we now have. While there was great enthusiasm 20, 25 or 30 years ago for encouraging farmers to plant land that was possibly suitable for nothing else, unfortunately, this motivation has gone because of the delays and red tape so there is a burden on the Minister, which I know he will be able to handle, to win back those landowners and persuade them to invest and do something really positive for our environment from a biodiversity and carbon sequestration perspective and also in terms of developing a natural resource. We are not big on oil and other than small amounts off the coast of Mayo, we do not have a lot of gas but we have suitable soils and small farms that can be utilised to better deliver for their communities.