I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion regarding forestry. Yesterday, on the question, "That the motion be agreed to", a division was claimed, and in accordance with Standing Order 80(2), that division must be taken now.
Forestry Sector: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]
The following motion was moved by Deputy Matt Carthy on Tuesday, 24 January 2023:
That Dáil Éireann:
recognises that:
— the Irish forestry sector supports an estimated 9,400 jobs directly and indirectly with economic value of over €2 billion per annum;
— the forestry sector and afforestation must play a crucial role under the Climate Action Plan 2023 in support of Ireland's climate objectives, and that the continued failure to achieve afforestation targets will have compounding implications for the ability to meet 2050 emission reduction obligations;
— forest area comprises of 808,848 hectares or 11.6 per cent of the total land area of the State (Ireland's National Forest Inventory 2022);
— of the total forest area, 397,364 hectares or 49.1 per cent is in public ownership, primarily through the semi-State company Coillte;
— despite improvements in recent years, a significant forestry licensing backlog remains within the Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine;
— there has been widespread concern among environmentalists, farmers, the forestry sector and local communities with the announced joint venture between Coillte and the British investment management company, Gresham House; and
— Coillte is co-owned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on behalf of the Irish people;
notes that:
— the Government's target is an annual afforestation rate of 8,000 hectares;
— the Government have failed to come close to achieving this target; the level of afforestation in 2020 was 2,435 hectares, in 2021 it was 2,016 hectares, and in 2022 it was 2,243 hectares (by week 50); this level of annual afforestation represents the lowest levels since the Second World War;
— while this crisis has been developing over a lengthy timeframe, with annual afforestation decreasing from 8,314 in 2010 to 3,550 in 2019, under the current Fianna Fáil Minister and Green Party Minister of State, forestry outputs have continued to worsen since this Government came to office;
— despite the extension of the Forestry Programme 2014 – 2020: Ireland by two years, a new forestry strategy is still not currently in place and that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is not currently accepting or processing new afforestation licence applications;
— between 2015 and 2020 the number of farmers participating in new afforestation decreased by over 88 per cent, while between 1980 and 2019 81 per cent of private lands afforested in the State was carried out by farmers;
— delays remain in the issuing of licences, especially afforestation and private felling licences, with the Government failing to achieve its own targets in nearly two-thirds of weeks in 2022;
— the Minister of State with responsibility for forestry was aware since March 2021 of Coillte's intentions to use a private investment vehicle to acquire land;
— the proposed joint venture between Coillte and Gresham House has not resulted in increased Government targets for afforestation, and that any new planting could and should be undertaken by public bodies, farmers and farmer co-operatives; and
— there has been a severe lack of public consultation or engagement regarding the potential negative consequences of the large-purchase of lands arising from the Coillte-Gresham House joint venture on a social, economic and environmental basis; and
calls on the Government to:
— instruct Coillte to immediately halt their proposed joint venture with Gresham House;
— publish the new forestry strategy as a matter of urgency and ensure that the new strategy prioritises afforestation undertaken by local communities, farmers and landowners and public bodies above investment management ventures; and
— review their 2022 forestry licensing throughput, set in place an ambitious licensing target for 2023, and commit to meeting licencing targets for both Coillte and non-Coillte applicants.
Question put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 55; Níl, 5; Staon, 64.
Tá
- Andrews, Chris.
- Bacik, Ivana.
- Barry, Mick.
- Berry, Cathal.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Brady, John.
- Browne, Martin.
- Buckley, Pat.
- Cairns, Holly.
- Canney, Seán.
- Carthy, Matt.
- Clarke, Sorca.
- Collins, Joan.
- Conway-Walsh, Rose.
- Crowe, Seán.
- Cullinane, David.
- Daly, Pa.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Donnelly, Paul.
- Ellis, Dessie.
- Farrell, Mairéad.
- Fitzmaurice, Michael.
- Fitzpatrick, Peter.
- Funchion, Kathleen.
- Gannon, Gary.
- Gould, Thomas.
- Guirke, Johnny.
- Howlin, Brendan.
- Kenny, Gino.
- Kenny, Martin.
- Kerrane, Claire.
- Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
- McNamara, Michael.
- Mitchell, Denise.
- Munster, Imelda.
- Murphy, Catherine.
- Nash, Ged.
- Nolan, Carol.
- O'Callaghan, Cian.
- O'Reilly, Louise.
- O'Rourke, Darren.
- Ó Broin, Eoin.
- Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
- Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- Quinlivan, Maurice.
- Ryan, Patricia.
- Sherlock, Sean.
- Shortall, Róisín.
- Smith, Duncan.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Tóibín, Peadar.
- Tully, Pauline.
- Ward, Mark.
- Whitmore, Jennifer.
Níl
- Collins, Michael.
- Healy-Rae, Danny.
- Healy-Rae, Michael.
- McGrath, Mattie.
- O'Donoghue, Richard.
Staon
- Brophy, Colm.
- Browne, James.
- Bruton, Richard.
- Butler, Mary.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Cahill, Jackie.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Cannon, Ciarán.
- Carey, Joe.
- Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
- Chambers, Jack.
- Collins, Niall.
- Costello, Patrick.
- Coveney, Simon.
- Cowen, Barry.
- Creed, Michael.
- Crowe, Cathal.
- Devlin, Cormac.
- Dillon, Alan.
- Donnelly, Stephen.
- Donohoe, Paschal.
- Duffy, Francis Noel.
- English, Damien.
- Farrell, Alan.
- Feighan, Frankie.
- Flaherty, Joe.
- Flanagan, Charles.
- Foley, Norma.
- Griffin, Brendan.
- Haughey, Seán.
- Heydon, Martin.
- Higgins, Emer.
- Hourigan, Neasa.
- Kehoe, Paul.
- Lawless, James.
- Leddin, Brian.
- Madigan, Josepha.
- Martin, Catherine.
- Matthews, Steven.
- McAuliffe, Paul.
- McConalogue, Charlie.
- McHugh, Joe.
- Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
- Naughton, Hildegarde.
- Noonan, Malcolm.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Brien, Joe.
- O'Callaghan, Jim.
- O'Connor, James.
- O'Dea, Willie.
- O'Donnell, Kieran.
- O'Donovan, Patrick.
- O'Dowd, Fergus.
- O'Sullivan, Christopher.
- O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
- Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
- Phelan, John Paul.
- Rabbitte, Anne.
- Richmond, Neale.
- Ring, Michael.
- Ryan, Eamon.
- Smyth, Niamh.
- Smyth, Ossian.
- Stanton, David.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Denise Mitchell; Níl, Deputies Mattie McGrath and Michael Collins.
Question declared carried.
Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 8.33 p.m. go dtí 8.54 a.m., Déardaoin, an 26 Eanáir 2023.
The Dáil adjourned at 8.33 p.m. until 8.54 a.m. on Thursday, 26 January 2023.