Michael Healy-Rae's trees-on-peatland plan is environmental vandalism
In a promotional video posted online by the Department of Agriculture, Michael Healy-Rae, Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, foregrounded his personal experience having planted a 'forestry plantation' in his early twenties. He also recently purchased more forestry.
It can be rare for a minister – junior or senior – to have especially relevant expertise to bring to the role they're given, but in this case, Healy-Rae has literally got his hands dirty. Unfortunately, some recent comments suggest this may be where his expertise ends.
Recently,
Healy-Rae gave a speech in the Seanad about forestry
. In these remarks, he advocated planting on peatland. This plan would be a reversal of Government policy, counter to Government restrictions and European Union policy around afforestation, and terrible for the environment and biodiversity.
The science is clear: it would release carbon, worsening Ireland's very poor trajectory on meeting carbon reduction targets, and would obliterate progress made on rewetting peatlands. Speaking to The Journal,
a professor of climate change at Maynooth University, Peter Thorne
, described planting forestry on peatlands as 'environmental vandalism' and 'about the dumbest thing we can do'.
READ MORE
In his remarks, Healy-Rae referred to forestry that fell during Storm Eowyn as 'the product'. He said 'it is great to see our natural resource being turned into fine products' when discussing farmed trees going to sawmills. But such trees are not a 'natural resource'. They are a non-native monocultural species that degrade the landscape and do little for biodiversity.
There are questions to be asked about why someone who would attempt to pursue such policies would be given the brief of forestry
Fianna Fáil senator Paul Daly also pitched planting on peat: 'There is an argument made that when peaty soil is disturbed when sowing trees, it releases a certain amount of carbon and that this amount may not be weighed against the sequestration of the tree.'
Daly's version of events is not about 'an argument', it is about science. 'Considering all these advantages of a tree, maybe a little carbon loss at planting might not be bad at all,' he continued. This is nonsense. Of course it is bad.
Fine Gael Senator Paraic Brady also advocated for planting on peatland, saying: 'A lot of regions I have mentioned have peaty rich soil. It has grown timber very successfully in the past. Trees such as Sitka spruce have been grown in the soil. There is no reason why such trees cannot grow again. We need a package to be put in place in order that the soil can be replanted.' Again, a patently bad idea.
Thankfully, some senators spoke sense. Sinn Féin senator Joanne Collins made the obvious point that 'the process of draining, planting, harvesting and replanting peatlands is contributing to carbon emissions, not reducing them. Afforestation on peatlands must stop.'
Her fellow party member, Senator Pauline Tully, also said: 'Peatland that has forest on it needs to be returned to peatland because we are losing more carbon than we are saving.'
In the face of these factual points, Healy-Rae bucked both sense and science and said his officials in the Department will 'look at planting more peatland'. He added: 'Farmers want to plant peatland.'
There are questions to be asked about why someone who would attempt to pursue such policies would be given the brief of forestry. But Government knew exactly what it was getting when it made that choice.
Healy-Rae has an opportunity to lead by example in a way that makes sense not just for farmers, but for Ireland and for nature. He has experience in forestry. Why then, considering his brief, is he pitching such a ridiculous idea? Is it about generating more income for farmers today, and to hell with tomorrow? Farmers need to be paid well and encouraged to plant native broadleaf trees and help nature. They are key partners in all of this. Short-term, populist, destructive plans will not work for anyone.
Because of human behaviour, there is much about the climate crisis we cannot change
In the big picture, there will be no money to be made, because the fines on Ireland for breaching our climate, carbon and emissions targets will be enormous. The degradation of our land more generally will devastate farmers in the long-term.
There is no returning to the past. The experts are clear that planting forestry on peatlands was, and is, a grave mistake. In the past, we did not have the scientific knowledge to fully appreciate the negative impact of obliterating peatland. But we do know now.
The future of forestry in Ireland should be a nature-first, non-commercial approach, where native woodlands and rewilding form the tenets of our attempt to address the degradation of our land.
Because of human behaviour, there is much about the climate crisis we cannot change. Yet we can make positive changes that would radically improve the countryside. One of those is ending open grazing by sheep, deer and goats. Another is replacing commercial tree-crop plantations with native forestry.
Any attempt to reverse the small gains that have been made by once again desecrating peatlands is environmentally reckless and against the national interest.
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Irish Times
16 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 12th: On rent market changes, the media and hurling
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The Journal
3 hours ago
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Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Government will be on 'the wrong side' of history over Israeli bonds decision, opposition says
The Government has been warned it is on the "the wrong side" of history after rejecting a motion to prevent the facilitation of Israeli war bonds. Opposition parties united behind a motion demanding the Government enact emergency legislation to explicitly force the Central Bank to stop facilitating the sale of Israel bonds. The Social Democrats motion, supported by Sinn Féin, Labour, and People Before Profit-Solidarity also called on the coalition to advise the bank that "by acting as the enabling cog in Israel's fund-raising machine in the EU, it is putting the State at risk of a charge of complicity in genocide". However, the Government's countermotion stated that it had "received advice from the Attorney General that recently proposed legislation to introduce 'restrictive measures' was not compatible with our obligations as members of the EU and in conflict with Article 215 and Article 63 Treaty on the Functioning of the EU". The motion with the amendment put forward by the Government was then passed by 85 votes to 71. Speaking in the Dáil ahead of the vote, finance minister Paschal Donohoe said: "Despite the human feelings I have and the determination of the Government to respond to this, I have to recognise the law with regard to the EU and the law that recognises the independent operation of the Central Bank of Ireland." But Social Democrats TD Cian O'Callaghan claimed that the Government was "hiding behind technicalities" and could act on the matter if it wanted to. Let us be clear about this. Genocide is taking place and is being part-funded by the sale of Israeli bonds including in Europe, which is being facilitated by the Irish Central Bank. Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty described Mr Donohoe's response as "shameful", adding: "History will show that the minister is on the wrong side of this issue. He has used carefully constructed words to tell us what we cannot do. "However, the reality is that if Government wants to initiate national measures that will ensure that the Central Bank does not sign off on a prospective and therefore, not facilitate the sale of these war bonds in Ireland, then it can do so."
