DEAR EDITOR

At a time of ever increasing pressure on the environment, never was the need greater to increase our forestry acreage, which stands among the lowest in the EU despite having soil types and climate ideally suited to timber production.

Under the present Government and Minister Pippa Hackett, this situation is deteriorating on a yearly basis. While the minister wrings her hands and waits for the situation to improve, planting acreage has fallen to an all-time low and under the present regime, can only fall further.

The planting target is 8,000ha/annum and to date this year, 1,024ha have been planted. Obviously, a radical rethink has to be applied to the forestry sector, which currently is bogged down with bureaucracy, red tape and delays. As a farmer owner of a small plantation now reaching clearfell, I was waiting for over three years for a felling licence.

On its eventual arrival, there were more terms and conditions attached than might apply to a steeplejack’s life insurance policy. In all probability, my modest plantation will never be harvested. Added to that, there is a liability to replant, thus permanently devaluing the land for all time.

If our ‘green’ minister is serious about achieving anything close to the target acreage, she needs to urgently consult with stakeholders, especially the smaller farmer growers who nurtured their crops through the last 30 years, only to see them left virtually valueless. A stark warning to those contemplating planting in the near future.