IFA Countryside

IFA Farm Forestry Chairman Vincent Nally has welcomed the report from the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine on ‘Issues Impacting the Forestry Sector in Ireland’.

“Given the attention in recent times on the licensing crisis, I would like to commend the Committee for bringing a renewed focus to ash dieback and the forest owners whose woodlands are being devastated by the ash dieback disease,” said Mr. Nally.

“I would call on the Minister to act on the recommendation in the report and immediately introduce a new and properly-funded ash dieback scheme”.

He said that one of the most important recommendations is something IFA has sought since the disease was first confirmed, which is the introduction of a grant to cover some of the financial loss incurred by forest owners. The grant should cover the cost of felling infected forests and owners who replant must be able to draw a premium for 15 years.

“The treatment of the forest owners affected by the disease has been scandalous. The Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme must be scrapped.  It’s unworkable and is forcing forest owners to continue to invest in a dying crop and change to a continuous cover forest system, not to mention the serious health and safety risks of managing infected trees,” he said.

He said it was significant that the report recognised that the Department was ultimately responsibility for the importation of ash dieback, as this has been a bone of contention with farmers for years.

“I hope that the Department heeds the report and that lessons have been learned that will prevent future disease importation, which is a huge concern for farmers at the moment due the volume of timber and plants being imported,” he said.

Regarding the forest licence recommendations, he welcomed the Committee’s support for a number of IFA proposals, including that farmers must have certainty on timeframe for when they will receive a decision on their licence and that forest road and thinning licences should be included as a condition of their afforestation licenses rather than individual applications.

IFA Countryside Chairman Brian Rushe said Bank of Ireland’s announcement on branch closures is very disappointing news for rural communities.

“This comes as a slap in the face to rural communities who rely on local branches for banking services. We estimate that over 80% of the branches identified for closure are in rural locations. The withdrawal of this vital service will discommode those without internet access and people whose preference is to do their banking in person.”

Bank of Ireland will close 88 of its branches from September, reducing its network by one third. Bank of Ireland, which has the largest branch network in the country, temporarily closed 101 branches in March – almost 40 per cent of its locations – due to COVID-19. The bank has been actively engaged in a review of its operations.

Worryingly, the branch closure programme disproportionately targets rural Ireland, with the bulk of branch closures in rural locations. Brian Rushe said IFA will be seeking an urgent meeting with Bank of Ireland senior management to raise the unfair targeting of rural Ireland with the closure programme.

Similar to AIB and Ulster Bank, the bank has signed a deal An Post which will allow personal and business customers to use their local post office for certain services, including withdrawals and lodgements.

Mr Rushe added that research from the UK has shown that the closure of just one branch reduces lending to the local community by some 64%.

This announcement is another hammer blow to the provision of banking services in Ireland following the recent confirmation that Ulster Bank plan to exit the Irish market.