Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages
Dail Éireann — 2020-09-30
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Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP), Dún Laoghaire

Every amendment in the group centres on the same question, namely, whether we should rush things through and short-circuit the process or instead protect the process by which citizens can appeal. That is what the debate is about and it is what all the amendments in the group are about. Our amendment in the group is amendment No. 59, so that is what I am speaking to, but I am also speaking against the idea that solving the problems that have been highlighted will be done by introducing an arbitrary timeline of eight weeks. That will not solve them.
To respond to Deputy Mattie McGrath, the figure he mentioned is a reasonably significant number of appeals, and if somebody is lodging all of them, that is a bit much. I do not know who the person is. It is interesting, however, that 61% of those appeals were accepted, so there is a problem. I reiterate that rather than us tearing out one another's eyes over this legislation, which is a set-up, we should look over at the Government. I disagree with Deputy Carthy, who blamed us for this. That is wrong and he is wrong to back the Government on this. The legislation will not solve the problem and it will not address-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2020-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:37+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-09-30