I completely agree with what the Deputy is saying. Alongside the work that is being done on hedgerows, Teagasc is also doing work on soil carbon and the effects of the losses and sequestration there. Mapping is important but I certainly believe with regard to public spaces, that is perhaps where the mapping aspect will come in. We identify those areas where there are trees in public spaces but my Department actually supports public bodies to plant trees on publicly owned lands. This has been relatively successful a…

I do not have to hand what collaborations are ongoing but I am sure that we wholly engage with international research, particularly within forestry. The Deputy will be aware that we have a challenge now that our forestry estate will become no longer a sink of carbon and that is one of the challenges we face going forward, which is in order to ramp up the planting of trees now in the next number of years, we need to offset that. The science is not entirely clear and continually moves with regard to, for example, the…

Before I start, I thank the Cathaoirleach on behalf of the House for expressing sympathies on the passing of my Dad, Lucien Powers. Both he and my Mum, Jeannie, sat very proudly in the Visitors' Gallery here when I gave my maiden speech in this wonderful Chamber, in November 2019. That is a happy memory for us all. Turning now to the Commencement matter at hand, I thank Senator Boyhan for bringing forward this matter and for his continued interest in the forestry sector. As he is aware, the Government has committed…

I fully acknowledge the Senator's positivity and commitment to the sector and welcome the fact he plans to attend some of the workshops. We see the promotion of forestry as something that enough people are already involved in. In the case of the forestry promotion project, as I indicated, a lot of private sector individuals are getting involved, which is very good given it is diverse, it spans the country and it allows people to see the benefits of forestry across the board, not least at a societal level. Teagasc i…

I thank the Deputy for her continued interest in this. The wool sector is an important aspect of the wider agrifood sector. The Irish-grown wool council was officially formed on 5 April 2023. It is an independent stakeholder-led council. Members of the council represent a wide range of different industries and interests from within the wool sector including: farmers, wool merchants, sheep shearers, educators, designers, crafters as well as industry representatives and farming organisations. The diverse membership a…

The recommendation from the feasibility study was that the wool council be established by the sector itself. It was not that the Department or a Minister should guide the work in that regard. That was strongly stated in the recommendation in the feasibility study. That is what has happened. There is wide representation on the council. I understand the council has met. I do not have a list of its meetings, but certainly it has met a couple of times since 5 April. I have engaged informally at farm events I have been …

I thank both Deputies. The council has been established to look at a number of issues. There are more recommendations in the feasibility study, with which we also need to push on. I have been at events where they show farmers how to manage their wool, and how to keep it dag free and increase the value of the wool from that point. We are dealing with research through the wool research and innovation hub through Munster Technological University. There is research to be carried out. Unfortunately, there is not a deman…

There have been two worrying developments in the past few days that merit discussion and a moment for us to pause and reflect. The first was a public meeting in Ballinasloe over the weekend on the nature restoration law. Many of us have spoken previously on the importance and value of restoring nature and the potential opportunities this can offer both urban and rural Ireland. Restoring nature should not be controversial but the weekend meeting, in its tone and tenor, was allowed to spiral out of control to a point…

I welcome Senator Boyhan's interest in forestry and I am glad he shares my commitment to forestry. We both appreciate it is an extremely valuable sector to our country and will be very important for our climate ambitions. A strong funding commitment is imperative in realising the Government ambitions for the Forestry Programme 2023-2027. As such the referenced €1.3 billion package remains fully allocated for the Department's forestry commitments. As the Deputy will be aware, the forestry programme is subject to sta…

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…

I thank all the Senators. I was watching some of the debate on the screen in my office, as I had another meeting. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, had to leave, but I thank Members on his behalf for contributing to today's debate. It is clear there is widespread welcome for this legislation. Clearly, the impassioned speeches we heard in the House for the agrifood sector and primary producers and about securing that future for those producers are really ringing strong today, which is welcome too. I welcome all the …

I heard an interesting phrase at our church service in Geashill on Sunday morning, namely, "to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often". Who does not aspire to be perfect? The climate and biodiversity crises have plunged us into a significant time of change for every aspect of our lives. Some of us want to embrace this challenge and see the value in making changes in how we consume, travel and farm. Change requires us all to accept new information and different ways of doing things. It also re…

Deputies across the House may be aware that the first confirmed finding of ash dieback disease in Ireland was made on 12 October 2012 at a forestry plantation site that had been planted in 2009 with trees imported from continental Europe. In March 2013, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine introduced a reconstitution scheme to restore forests planted under the afforestation scheme that had suffered from, or were associated with, plants affected by the disease. Following a review of the national respon…

I fully accept that the ash dieback issue has damaged confidence in the sector. I also accept that there are concerns about the RUS. That said, there are satisfied farmers who have availed of the scheme and who are pleased to have done so. I accept that there is another cohort that is not as pleased and who keep the pressure on, but a total of 974 applications under the scheme have been approved since 2020. Farmers are engaging with the scheme as it stands. However, it is a challenging time for farmers. I accept th…

I thank the Deputy for that. We examined quite thoroughly the idea of not requiring farmers to apply for felling licences. As part of Project Woodland, we examined the regulatory processes involved very extensively. We simply cannot allow farmers to fell trees without getting a licence. Felling entails a significant project that has an impact on the wider environment, so we do need to have a process in place. That process protects the environment as much as it can. The previous costings for the site clearance grant…

I wish to speak about agricultural shows. They offer a wonderful family day out and are taking place in every corner of Ireland in the coming weeks and months. I urge anyone who has never been to an agricultural show to go to the Irish Shows Association website at irishshows.org where he or she will find a full list of upcoming events. There is sure to be something in the local area over the summer months. I strongly urge people to go along and see what the talk is all about. I am lucky that in my constituency of C…

I thank the Senators and welcome this evening’s discussion on Coillte and Bord na Móna and the vital role each company has to play in helping to address our climate change and biodiversity objectives. I welcome the direction of the Bill. The spirit of the Bill is very much consistent with the programme for Government commitments in regard to each of the two companies. Let me advise on the current legislative framework governing Coillte’s role. Coillte, as Senators know, was established under the Forestry Act 1988 t…

Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

I thank Senator Boyhan for his continuing interest in the really important sector of forestry in Ireland. I welcome the opportunity to update him and other Senators on the progress that has been made on the application for state aid approval for the new forestry programme. As the Senator will know, and he alluded to it in his opening speech, the Government has committed to a €1.3 billion new forestry programme, which is the biggest and largest funded forestry programme ever introduced by any government here. It has…

I will give the Senator a copy.