Minister responds to Leitrim forestry concerns

Minister for Forestry, Michael Healy-Rae, has said that concerns around forestry in Leitrim are valid, but his first priority is towards getting trees planted.

“Is it true that I want more land in Ireland to be planted? Of course it is. I want 8,000 hectares a year to be planted—that is my job, that is my responsibility,” said Deputy Healy-Rae told Ocean FM.

The minister said he was aware of the significant damage caused in the area by falling trees in the aftermath of Storm Darragh and Storm Éowyn. “I will try and do right by people,” he said, adding that his first priority is to those whose forests were damaged by the storms.

Last month, Minister Healy-Rae met with a delegation of Leitrim councillors and members of the environmental group Save Leitrim to discuss the forestry issue following the storms. He received criticism for not addressing the negative effects that forestry is having on communities in the county.

“He is the industry’s minister, and that’s it,” said Leitrim Councillor Justin Warnock, following the meeting where he and other members, Brynn Smyth and Edwina Guckian, met with the minister at the end of March.

The group has led a campaign strongly opposing the level of afforestation that has taken place in the county, which they believe is harming local residents and endangering communities in the area.

Minister Healy-Rae said he supports individual farmers’ choice to plant forestry on their land, though he acknowledged that the problem largely stems from companies buying up large swathes of land for planting.

“It is a very hard thing to control,” he said, reiterating his belief that there is still not enough afforestation happening nationally.

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