Relevant Matter
Legislation
Public Policy Area
Agriculture
Period
1 Jan, 2025 to 30 Apr, 2025
Specific Details
Windblow Task Force
Intended results
To participate in the Windblow Taskforce to address the serious consequences of an unprecedented supply of timber to the market.
To highlight to Minister Healy-Rae that there are precedents where Governments in Norway and Germany responded to such national emergencies. International help is essential.
To strongly express the need for experts who have dealt with such a crisis before to help with the emergency plan. Ireland does not have enough skillsets to deal with the clean-up of salvageable timber. The work must be co-ordinated to get as much timber salvaged as possible.
To highlight that prices will drop significantly due to this unprecedented supply of timber. Therefore, the storage of timber is also an issue.
To ensure all second-hand or used forestry machinery imported into Ireland goes through strict biosecurity measures at the ports.
To highlight that the work to salvage the near 24,000ha of windblown timber is underway. However, the importation of second-hand or used forestry machinery into the country to help with the operation could pose a biosecurity risk if machinery coming in isn't adequately sterilised and fumigated.
To emphasise that the threat of soil, organic matter and/or plant debris which may be attached to the machines could potentially contain harmful forest pests and pathogens such as the Great Bark Beetles.
To urge the Department of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine (DAFM) to ensure the strictest control measures are imposed at sea ports. Any second-hand or used forestry machinery coming into the country in breach of their guidelines must be refused entry immediately. The Irish forest sector is already under severe pressure. Any additional harmful forest pest or pathogen would finish the sector once and for all.
Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity
Padraig Stapleton IFA Forestry Chair, Pat Walsh IFA Offaly Chair, Brendan Hickey IFA Kilkenny Chair, Amy Mulchrone IFA Policy Executive, Jackie Whelan Fagan IFA Regional Executive, John O'Hanlon IFA Regional Executive, Richard Moeran IFA Cavan Forestry Representative
Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?)
No
Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign?
No
Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client?
No
Lobbying activity
The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.
Informal communication (2-5)
Designated public officials lobbied
The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them.
As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.
Brendan Smith
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Jackie Healy-Rae
Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
John McGuinness
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Michael Healy-Rae
Minister of State (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Natasha Newsome Drennan
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)
Patricia Stephenson
Senator (Seanad)
Peter 'Chap' Cleere
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)