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Taoiseach Micheál Martin has warned that there will be no Irish forest industry in late October or November unless legislation is passed before the Dáil dealing with license appeals.
Mr Martin said that jobs in the sector and the supply of wood were seriously threatened due to “serial objections on an industrial scale”.
He highlighted the need to approve the Forestry Law Project (Various Provisions), which reforms the way in which resources filed against forestry licenses are handled.
The Taoiseach spoke as a dispute broke out between Dáil over time to speak over controversial legislation that has caused strong divisions.
Independent TD Mattie McGrath said “tree lovers and tree lovers are delaying the bill and obstructing it with frivolous amendments.”
But People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett criticized the interests of big business, saying they should have “decent jobs instead of bogus self-employment in forestry.”
The forestry industry has said that logging license appeals are not being resolved quickly enough, with around 400 believed to be before the Forest Appeals Committee and decisions are made at a rate of around 20 per month.
The bill allows the committee to grow in size and hear more than one appeal at a time and determine appeals without an oral hearing in appropriate cases.
Mr. Martin said that the legislation was urgent and that the problem had been going on for years. “There have been a number of objections on an industrial scale, which is undeserved and unfair,” he said.
The Taoiseach said that he had no problem with people resisting, which they had a right to do.
“All the bill is doing is aligning the issue of forestry, logging and plantation licenses with the conventional planning system,” he said. “It still allows objections, but creates fees for those who want to appeal.”
He said the bill was “too weak” in the opinion of some TDs, but “it is probably too strong from someone else’s perspective.”
“We want to prevent people who live in the city from opposing the plantations that are 100 miles and 200 miles away. This is scandalous, ”he said.
Later, when introducing the bill, State Minister Pippa Hackett said that there was a crisis in the forestry sector and that the appeals system was “overwhelmed.”
Ms Hackett, head of forestry, said the licensing system has required the “most fundamental change” in its history. She added that due to delays, the planting of new trees was reduced by 35 percent compared to last year by 1,941 hectares. The Minister noted that 81 percent of the 9,000 submissions received on the bill supported the legislation.
Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said they wanted to plant 8,000 hectares annually of “productive, mixed, native and recreational forests.”
Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny said that an effective forest policy should be beneficial to the community, the environment and the local economy. Mr. Kenny said that much of the delays and opposition to afforestation “is due to overall forest policy rather than individual operations.” The government must clear the backlog in license applications and appeals, but its second job is to deliver a new forest policy, he added.
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