It is important to qualify that Bord na Móna never supplied peat to the mushroom sector, and only supplied it to the amenity horticulture sector. The company has some supplies, and certainly it has indicated that those supplies will be made available to the amenity horticulture sector if it is determined to be good enough. There seems to be a little disquiet as to whether it is of suitable quality. My advisers and my officials have met with Bord na Móna on this and the expertise that exists within the company after…

My officials-----

Me, personally?

At different stages, but in relation to this, since the report, my officials and my advisers have met them. If we are looking at small-scale peat extraction, the independent assessors put in place for that will help engage with those who wish to become compliant. It is important that they become compliant if we are to continue our own domestic supply.

I am pleased to be here to introduce the Animal Health and Welfare and Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021. The Bill went through all five Stages in the Dáil, and pre-legislative scrutiny before that, and is now before the Seanad. The Title of the legislation was changed on Committee Stage in the Dáil to the Animal Health and Welfare and Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 from the Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 to reflect amendments to the Forestry Act 2014 intro…

I thank all the Senators for their constructive feedback and their support for the Bill. There are two main issues here and the forestry aspect was added on Committee Stage in the Dáil, for a number of reasons. The main reason related to the fact the Bill was coming from the Department at which I am Minister of State and it was not going to be easy to attach the forestry aspect to a different Department's Bill, but there was also an importance in enabling us to plant more trees, the importance of which was highligh…

I thank Senator Conway for bringing forward this Commencement matter and giving me the opportunity to discuss some of the current arrangements relating to forest licensing and timber transport. Forestry plays a very important role in our rural economy and in climate change mitigation efforts and supports thousands of local rural jobs, directly and indirectly. Following recent improvements made to the forest licensing system, my Department issued 4,050 forestry licences last year, a 56% increase on 2020. The increas…

I accept the Senator's concerns. In parts of my constituency, roads are founded on peat as well and it is a problem for any transport, not just timber transport but also agricultural transport and movements. However, the management of public roads is outside the remit of my Department. We try to operate the licence consent and grant schemes and to improve the communication with the public roads networks and the roads authorities. Perhaps there is scope to explore how that communication is working - whether there is…

Perhaps that is worth considering.

It is great to be in the Seanad to speak. Spring is in the air and it is a time of renewal. A great new energy is rising. It is a time of planting and many farmers throughout the country will shortly begin to sow seeds. Calving and lambing are under way, the days are lengthening and there is evidence of new growth. Imbolc is also about the seeds of new ideas. We are one of the world's top agricultural producers but we have one of the lowest rates of organic production in Europe. Organic farming is still a new idea …

There is much optimism around at the moment. It is a new year and green shoots are already appearing, while the crisis of Covid is hopefully showing signs of disappearing. Behind the optimism, there still lurks another crisis which shows no sign of going anywhere, the climate and biodiversity one. We are all very aware of it but, understandably, we wonder what we can do about it. One thing I am asking everyone to do this year is to talk about and think about trees. Trees matter. When it comes to climate, they seque…

I echo the Christmas wishes to the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas, including my Senator colleagues, their staff, families and friends. I hope they have a good one. Last week, I had the opportunity to visit my home county of Mayo thanks to an old national school friend from Ballindine, Sabina Trench, who is now the CEO of South West Mayo Development Company. We have known each other since we were four years of age. It was a surreal experience for us to meet through our work years later having taken such diffe…

As Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the House on the importance of planting of trees, and in particular our native trees. The Climate Action Plan 2021 sets an ambitious afforestation target when compared with recent afforestation rates and will be challenging to meet in the next decade. However, the Department is committed to addressing the current barriers that have resulted in low afforestation rates for all plantation sizes and these measures are…

Tackling the backlog in forestry licences remains a key priority for me and the Department. I am pleased to report that significant progress has been made in the past year, particularly on felling and roads. However, afforestation is a crucial part of this and we are actively addressing it all the time. Regarding the prioritisation of afforestation licences in recent times, in the month of November, 50 afforestation licences were issued and the total to date for the year stands at 476. We have dedicated more ecolog…

The target is 4,000 licences by the end of the year. It was originally 4,500 at the start of the year, but a statutory instrument introduced for the Department out of the blue in the middle of the year set us back by about two months during the summer. We were on course up to June with a sizeable increase in licensing output. It was low in July and August but we picked up the pace again in September. It has been acknowledged that it put our original target out of reach. We adjusted the target during the summer to 4…

With regard to the Deputy's last point, any land that is felled is replanted so it is not a net loss of area planted unless there are circumstances in which the land must not be planted, perhaps if it was planted in the wrong location originally. On the whole, the vast majority of lands that are felled are replanted. I accept and agree with the Deputy that a joined-up policy is needed for forestry for the future. I appreciate her support for a public consultation. We will extend that, and between now and the new ye…

The climate action plan 2021 highlights the importance of forestry in removing from and storing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Ireland's forests are a net sink of carbon dioxide and the timber produced also stores carbon in long-lived harvested wood products. It is for this reason that the climate action plan recognises the importance of maintaining our forest areas, preventing deforestation and increasing the amount of wood used in construction. It also highlights the importance of afforestation. The Climate Ac…

We absolutely accept that there are significant issues with regard to licensing and getting licences out there. It may be worth noting that in the region of 5,000 ha are currently licensed for planting that are not being planted, for whatever reason. It is important that we understand those reasons and find out why landowners who have been issued with licences to plant have chosen not to. That is also a concern. I ask that landowners who have received licences to plant to please do so. We are entering the time for …

There were 50 licences for afforestation.

The 4,000 refers to all licences.