Farmers are expressing frustration at the slow response of Government to landowners affected by Ash Dieback disease.
Minister Pippa Hackett published the Independent Review into the Government response to the disease since it was first detected in Ireland in 2012.
The review makes a number of recommendations but the Minister says before any action can be undertaken there needs to be an examination of State Aid Rules operated by the EU.
The Limerick and Tipperary Woodland Owners Group says that the leadership in the Department’s Forestry unit and at Ministerial level is failing to grasp the needs of land owners left without an income for several years and faced with regulations and costs to remove the dead trees.
The future use of the land is also unclear and the cost implications of converting to grassland instead to replanting needs clarification.
Some 16,000 hectares of land are affected.
The failure to provide support in a pragmatic way is also likely to deter land owners from getting involved in Forestry according to Simon White the chairperson of the Group.
Mr White also says bio security measure currently in place are not adequate to prevent the introducing of other diseases or hazards to forests in Ireland.
The Independent Review of the Ash Dieback Response can be accessed at this link here.
