Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator once again. I share his frustration and that of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and stakeholders across the country regarding the protracted nature of this state aid approval process. I reassure people that we are making every effort to make sure this is right. We need to get it right. We are coming off the back of decades of legacy issues and that has impacted our ability to seek and obtain state aid approval quickly. That baggage is still there and we are trying to show that this proposed programme represents a change from previous programmes. In my mind, it does. It is a significant change.

I was surprised to hear the Senator's criticism of the Sitka spruce model in his opening statement. It is not the tree per sethat is the problem; it is the management of the tree. Unfortunately, we need those fast-growing conifers, of which Sitka spruce is a particular variety, to supply the timber of the future. As we try to fix the problems of the past, we also have to look forward and look to decarbonising our construction sector in the future. That is one part of what we aim to do.