I thank Senators for their interesting and informed contributions and for their widespread support for the motion. The extension of time by half an hour demonstrates the passion in the House for this issue, which I welcome. All Senators spoke passionately on the motion. I think of Senator O'Loughlin's account of the habitats and areas close to her own home. I thank Senator Boyhan for his well wishes for my party in this Government. I concur with Senator Murphy's comment to the effect that no matter what side one is…

I am very aware of the current dependence of the horticultural industry on the availability of peat moss. The High Court decision to strike down the legislation introduced in January 2019 regulating the extraction of peat now means that extraction of peat from bogs greater than 30 ha. requires companies to go through a licensing and planning regime. The more recent decision by Bord na Móna to suspend all peat extraction presents major supply challenges for the horticulture sector. Following on from the publication …

I recognise the huge importance of the mushroom industry here and peat is used as a casing material as part of that. There are efforts within the mushroom industry and with my Department looking at alternatives. It is probably early days in that but two funding research projects are currently commissioned by Ireland's mushroom producer organisation, Commercial Mushroom Producers, CMP, in conjunction with my Department examining the potential scope to, in one instance, recycle mushroom compost as a possible growing …

Ultimately, we will get to a situation where we will not have peat. Whether we extract it all and there is none left, we will end up at a situation where we do not have peat for every use we want it for. We are exploring the alternatives which potentially utilise spent peat. It is circular in nature in an economy sense. There are other possibilities in terms of coir, wood fibre or biochar so the possibilities are great. Perhaps there will be some further investment in that area. We do not, however, have an infinite…

I thank Deputy Kenny for the opening address on his Bill. I concur with many of the comments he made, many of which relate to broader forestry issues and are probably beyond the scope of the Bill. However, I thank him for them. It is only a short while since we were in this Chamber debating the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020, which sought to align some aspects of the forestry licensing process with the planning process. As mentioned then, I and this Government are ambitious for Irish forestry. It can …

I thank the Deputies for their passionate contributions. I could see from the comments that were made that there is a shared vision. I would like to think I share that vision with them of a much better forestry model, one that is good for the environment and where communities will want to live beside forests and be surrounded by the right type of forests. That is my intent and my vision for forestry. Deputies Harkin and Carthy highlighted the 15% minimum target for broadleaves. I agree that it is a minimum and that…

I agree with Deputy Cahill's final comment that it does not make sense to import peat here. The bottom line, however, is that the sector will have to transition away from peat. We will not have an endless supply of peat even if we wanted to continue with extraction. In the interim, as part of that, there may well be scope to facilitate that by focusing on the domestic demand for horticultural peat rather than exporting. Regarding the 10% that stays here as opposed to the 90% we export, there may be scope there, whi…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I welcome that there has been a healthy engagement with the Bill by the Members of the House. I would reiterate that the purpose of amending the existing legislation is to improve the functioning of the forestry appeals system, a system put in place to facilitate those who wish to make an appeal, that is, to appeal the decision of a Minister in regard to the issuing of a forestry licence. I believe the proposals in the Bill will provide people with a full and open oppor…

I will discuss all of the amendments in one group. Some of these amendments relate to a timeframe. The need to issue decisions in a timely manner is the precise reason I am introducing these regulations. It is not appropriate to put into the Bill a time limit on the issuance of decisions. A time limit will not make the appeal disappear and it would be inappropriate to put undue pressure on the forestry appeals committee. The appeals process must proceed fairly. Dividing the forestry appeals committee into smaller u…

To qualify, the justification for not including this amendment on the timing in the Bill is because there is a provision in the regulations under section 14E(1)(f) for the Minister to set a time limit. Consequently, we do not feel it is necessary to prescribe that in the Bill itself, especially at this early stage, when the whole purpose of the Bill is to make the appeals process more efficient and to work in a more effective way. For us to put a timeline on that at the very outset might be very foolish indeed and …

As I mentioned earlier, many of these amendments are duplicates of those that were tabled in the Seanad last week. I am disappointed we are not getting an opportunity to debate them fully and in time. If Deputy Cairns is concerned about one particular amendment she tabled that is essentially the same as an amendment in the Seanad last week, then the debate is there and my views and those of the Government still stand. We will not have changed our views on those duplicate amendments from last week to this week. I wi…

I will. I am pleased to have this opportunity to present the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020 for the consideration of this House. All Stages were completed in the Seanad on Friday evening after a comprehensive seven-hour discussion, and I am sure we will have something similar in this House. I thank the Business Committee of the Dáil for agreeing to waive the requirement for pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the proposed Bill due to the urgency of the need to introduce this legislation…

I thank Senators for their suggestions and comments. The fostering of public debate and transparent communication is very important. The forestry appeals committee currently publicises the results of appeals on its website shortly after a decision is made. That said, I think the suggestions and statements proposed in amendment No. 1 would add to the transparent communication which is vitally important, especially when it comes to environmental issues and people participating in that process, having all the informat…

I thank the Senators for their contributions on these amendments. What is being suggested here is already in place in practice. The chair of the forestry appeals committee selects people with specific expertise on environmental law and appeals. The current chairperson has significant experience and competence in matters relating to planning appeals. Again, we must remember that this Bill is not about afforestation or licensing but about the appeals process. We must keep coming back to what this legislation is about…

I appreciate Senator Boyhan spoke only to amendment No. 11. If the other Senators do not wish to speak to their amendments, I will address them as a group. All of the amendments in the group relate to the time limit for appeals. A number of suggestions have been made to me on the side to the effect that the length of time is too long and should be shorter. However, I consider that 28 days is a sufficient time to allow for the lodgment of an appeal. It must be remembered that a time period of 30 days is given in the…

I thank Senators again for the discussion on these amendments. I accept the concerns behind the people making appeals. I believe there is a genuine reason in the vast majority of cases. We must appreciate that appeals have been made against licences issued for things like woodland creation, before being withdrawn when they have been highlighted. One must consider and be aware that a certain percentage of appeals fall into this category. The information that will be available on the online portal will be invaluable …

On the clarification, I will have to check. I will certainly look back at that part of the Bill and check what flexibility there is for me to extend the period in question. I appreciate the Senator's concern and will certainly look into that, if that is okay.

I take that on board. The Senator might give me time to reflect on that.

I thank Senators again for their engagement on this section of the Bill. I agree that it is right that people should have access to justice. This Bill, in its current format, does not prevent anyone from taking a judicial review based on the results of the forestry appeals committee. It remains open to appellants, or indeed applicants, who are unhappy with the review or appeal of an application, to apply for leave to take a judicial review following the decision of the forestry appeals committee, and without insert…

Until now, people could go straight to the High Court with their concerns. This is just another filter which would make it more appropriate to do so. One would seek a judicial review from the High Court and if the High Court deemed that necessary, one could continue.