Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I accept that the local authority should put in place tree preservation orders but, unfortunately, it was not done in this instance. Part of the exemption is for trees outside a forest so it is about the legal interpretation of what is a tree and what is a forest. When we look up what a forest is, if more than 0.5 ha is under trees, it is a forest and the exemption does not apply, although that is just the opinion I have formed from my reading of it. The Act refers to “trees outside a forest”. If a forest is 0.5 ha, which it was in this case, then the exemption does not apply. I feel that a ministerial order should be put in place for the replanting of that area of ground. The reality is that it is affecting the water table in the area and is going to cause flooding in the future, given it has already raised the water table in the area because that water is not being soaked up underground.

I ask that the Department’s legal team would look at this again with regard to the legal interpretation. My reading of what is stated in the Act is that it refers to “trees outside a forest” and a forest is an area greater than 0.5 ha, which is approximately 1.5 acres or 1.6 acres. That is what it is in this case, so the exemption does not apply. I think a ministerial order should be looked at to replant that site in what is an urban area. The more green areas we have in our urban areas, the better.