*Cllr Pat Burke pictured on his land where ash dieback has destroyed 17 hectares.
CRITICISM has been hurled in the direction at the Junior Minister for Land Use and Biodiversity over the delays in removing dead ash trees from plantations.
In a proposal tabled before Clare County Council this week, Cllr Pat Burke (FG) called on Minister of State, Pippa Hackett (GP) “to give landowners emergency permission to remove dead ash trees from plantations affected by Ash Dieback disease as a matter of urgency”.
Over 6,000 farm and forestry families have been affected by ash dieback with thousands of hectares of woodland rendered useless because of dead and infected ash trees.
Ash dieback is a fungal infection first witnessed in Eastern Europe over 20 years ago and detected in Ireland in 2012. It has wiped out much of the country’s plantations of ash trees.
Co Clare is among one of the most populated counties in terms of ash trees, Cllr Burke stated with an estimated 2,870 hectares. The Whitegate representative planted seventeen hectares of ash in 2011 “in good faith”. He attended a conference held at the Dome in Thurles which was organised by the Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners organisation at the end of March.
“Pippa Hackett of Green Party has responsibility for forestry but has taken no heed of our concern, I don’t see her doing a whole lot,” Cllr Burke commented. He said he asked Senator Roisin Garvey (GP) to discuss the matter when she was first elevated to the Seanad in May 2020 “but I’m disappointed Senator Garvey hasn’t done anything”.
He continued, “the civil servants are driving the agenda in Dublin, it is riddled in red tape, it is pure frustration over the last two years, I will be removing the trees myself and I’m a law abiding citizen”. Burke added, “land is very valuable, if there’s no dead ash trees this land is very valuable to farm or rent out”.
An approximate 5.5 tonnes of woodchip were imported to Bord na Mona to power Foynes, he flagged, “we have all that in our country, we have the dead trees, get on with this and cut out the bureaucracy”.
According to Cllr Paul Murphy (FG), “it is a burning issue that needs to be dealt with urgently”. Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) noted, “Cllr Burke has been very clear on this issue, this is not his first time, he has been consistent on this”. Support was also voiced by Cllr Joe Killeen (FF), Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) and Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF).
Action is needed, Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) insisted, “We are well aware of the issues affecting rural people, we are calling on the Ministers to stop dragging their heels, get the thing moved on and stop delaying process”. Cllr Mary Howard commented, “Anyone investing in forestry is investing in their future but when it is dying in front of you it is very frustrating”.
“Forestry owners need to be compensated for losses incurred because of ash dieback,” Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) maintained. A neighbourwood scheme was destroyed in Lisdoonvarna because of the spread of ash dieback, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) stated.
A well-known hurley maker was “blue in the face” from raising the issue with senior Government figures and getting nowhere, Cllr PJ Ryan (IND) told the meeting.
