Local forest owners should not need felling licences to deal with storm-hit trees, according to a Roscommon-Galway TD. Around 10% of all forestry in Leitrim was knocked down by Storm Eowyn - and 12 per cent in Roscommon.
But the government is insisting forestry owners still get a felling licence, before removing this fallen timber. Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice says that's not reasonable - as these licences can take years to get:
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Deputy Fitzmaurice was speaking at a public meeting in Carrick-on-Shannon last night, attended by over 250 people. There was a presentation from TreeMetrics - a forest-monitoring company.
Co-founder Enda Keane also disagrees with the need for licences at the moment:
