500 signatures reached
To: Minister for State for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett
Allow the public a say in decisions on the environment
Trees and forests matter now more than ever! Remove the undemocratic provisions of the Draft Agriculture Appeals Bill.
Why is this important?
Don't let the government stop us from having a say in how forestry is developed in Ireland!
Sign the petition objecting to the undemocratic Draft Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Bill 2020
The Irish forestry industry has been ignoring requirements under EU law for Environmental Impact Assessments before forestry can be planted or felled for many years . This was successfully challenged in court in 2018 by environmentalist Peter Sweetman, but now, instead of dealing with the issues that were exposed and hiring enough ecologists to carry out these assessments, the government wants to prevent people from intervening on behalf of the environment. A new Draft Agriculture Appeals Bill , quietly published at the beginning of August, is an attempt to block public participation in the conservation of public forests and stifle the forestry appeals process. Its proposals severely restrict who can appeal and will make it prohibitively expensive to do so. This Bill contravenes the EU Aarhus Convention which allows for and encourages public participation in decision-making on the environment.
Serious concerns about this bill have been raised by Ireland’s leading environmental coalition, the Environmental Pillar, made up of 28 groups/NGOs that seek to protect and promote nature and wildlife.
Ireland has only 11% of forest cover as against a European average of over 40%. Government targets for forestry planting have been repeatedly missed and are unambitious as it is, shockingly so in view of the looming climate and biodiversity crisis. The impact of the ruling has been to slow down the industry severely but this is because the government has not done its part to address matters.
The public consultation for the Draft Bill closes this Friday 28th August. Sign the petition to tell Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity PIppa Hackett to reconsider this Bill, remove the undemocratic and prohibitive legislative changes it proposes to the appeals process and formulate a new Forestry Programme for Ireland. You can also email your objections to [email protected] by 5pm this Friday, 28th August.