Carol Nolan warns Project Woodlands failure threatens 12,000 jobs
Carol Nolan criticised the minister on forestry policy, calling Project Woodlands a failure and urging urgent action to save 12,000 jobs. She highlighted missed afforestation targets, reliance on imported timber and the need for binding timeframes on licence processing.
Key allegations
Nolan told the minister the issue felt like "Groundhog Day" and called the current situation shameful. She said timber imports are rising while Ireland is missing its own climate target of 8,000 hectares of afforestation annually, undermining farmers' confidence to plant trees.
Licence timeframes demanded
She repeated calls for timeframes to be placed on every licence application, including felling licences and afforestation licences. Nolan said cross-party amendments asking for specific processing timeframes were rejected and urged the minister to start collaborating with stakeholders.
Economic stakes for the sector
Nolan stressed the sector contributes 2.3 billion to the economy and warned that sawmills, foresters and farmers are suffering. She said stakeholders told her Project Woodlands "is failing miserably" and that the sector is "on the brink", with 12,000 jobs at risk.
Rejection of reports and call for immediate action
The deputy said more reports are not needed and that concrete action is required rather than further analysis. She pressed the minister to prove himself, heed stakeholders' warnings, and implement urgent measures to protect jobs and the forestry supply chain, noting a substantial number of affected workers are in the minister's own constituency of Leigh Shoffley.
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Minister, this is becoming like Groundhog Day. We have brought this issue up so many times cross-party, and I just think it's shameful what's happening in our country. With timber being imported, you're missing your own climate change targets. That's crazy. Your targets were 8,000 hectares of afforestation annually, and you're missing those targets. So that does not inspire confidence in any farmer to plant trees. I think you need to prove yourself here, Minister, and listen to us. The frustrating thing here for all of us tonight is that many of us put forward really solid and good amendments, asking you to put timeframes in place in terms of the processing of licences. You refused to do so. You refused to collaborate, and you rejected all of those amendments. Now, tonight I'm asking again for a timeframe to be put in place for every application, every licence application, whether it be a felling licence or an afforestation licence. This is an important sector for us. We have 2.3 billion being contributed to our economy, and I don't think you seem to grasp that, how important it is. For farmers, for farmers, for everybody in the sector, our foresters, everyone, saw mills. The saw mills are really going through a hard time again, Minister. Now, we've raised this very strongly with you over the last year and a half, but you have not took anything on board. You made the reference there in your speech about teamwork and working as a team. Minister, I sincerely hope you'll put that into practice. I sincerely hope that you will start listening to the stakeholders who tell me that Project Woodlands is failing miserably because it did not do what it was supposed to do. That is the bottom line here, Minister. You need to take urgent action to save a sector that is on the brink and to save 12,000 jobs, Minister. That some of those, and a big proportion of those are in your own constituency of Leigh Shoffley, as you well know, and you know this. Now, Minister, we do not need any more reports, and I have said that in a number of conversations that we had with foresters, a number of TDs in the constituency of Leigh Shoffley met people, the stakeholders. We do not need more reports from you. We need action, and you need to prove yourself and save the 12,000 jobs that are now on the brink. Thank you. Deputy Boyd Barrett.
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