I regard deciduous trees as an investment made for the welfare of future generations to plant a deciduous wood is a long-term decision.

Coniferous trees I regard as a crop. Longer than the normal annual crops of wheat or barley but nevertheless a crop with a defined time to reach maturity – depending on land type and to a lesser extent climate and exposure to prevailing winds.

It is also utterly unfair that specialised forestry contractors with expensive equipment be forced to lay off men

The current system allowing third-party objections to the clear felling of coniferous woodland is, to my mind, utterly bizarre and intrinsically unfair to farmers where crops are ready for harvesting and who presumably were depending on the cash generated from timber sales to meet personal commitments or family needs.

It is also utterly unfair that specialised forestry contractors with expensive equipment be forced to lay off men and have machinery idle when they should be fully employed and earning cash – cash incidentally that would be circulating in local rural economies. It is also unfair for sawmills, transport companies and wood processors to be deprived of raw material.

The forestry programme itself is in tatters with annual planting continuing to decline

I am not sure of the intrinsic reason why there are such objections to tree harvesting, especially when under the present system, there is a legal obligation on the woodland owner to replant after harvesting.

We now have a situation where the entire forest licensing system of the State has been brought to a halt. The forestry programme itself is in tatters with annual planting continuing to decline with the mythical annual target of 8,000ha – 20,000ac becoming increasingly illusory – despite the constant mantra that we need more forestry to absorb CO2 and so improve our national greenhouse gas emissions.

This is a large subject that will take some time to solve

We need a fundamental change in the planning laws that allow third-party objectors stymie national priorities. This is a large subject that will take some time to solve. But for forestry, especially coniferous forestry, the answer seems obvious – where coniferous forestry is given the go-ahead for planting, harvesting in line with good management, should be an explicit part of the package and not be subject to either separate application by the owner or subject to objection by others. Legislation to cover this should be enacted urgently. After all, multi-annual crops such as miscanthus and willow do not need a harvesting licence.