A survey of 1656, for example, gave a figure of 5,609 plantation acres of woodland in Shillelagh alone. Represented the remnants of a much more extensive woodland cover and had been cleared relatively recently. The survey shows, and I quote their researcher, Melvyn Jones of Sheffield City Polytechnic, that the woods concentrated in Shillelagh and Rathdrum. These estate records include coppice and scrub wood surveys at the beginning of the 17th Century. Estate documents survived and have been researched and published which provide a continuous and detailed record of native wood management in south Wicklow throughout the 18th Century. The property passed to Earl Fitzwilliam in 1782. Tomnafinnoge Wood is the last remnant of the oak-woods once blanketing the Watson Wentworth estate which during the 17th and 18th Centuries comprise of virtually all of south Wicklow: 56,000 plantation acres or 37,000 hectares in all.
SHILLELAGH WOODS FULL
I just believe the Minister, for one reason or another, is being told that something is happening and I am not too sure if he is getting the full story. He can then come back and tell us if he is happy with what has happened and with the way Bridgefarm Company are undertaking the felling and replanting of these trees. I can arrange for him to see Tomnafinnoge Wood and also see all the other woods like Brow Wood. I do not know if the Minister has visited the area, I do not know if he has seen the beauty of it and the destruction of other parts of the wood. Tomnafinnoge Wood is the last original Irish oakwood and that point cannot be lost. It is like giving a licence to knock down the last Georgian square". One of the people with me said "No, you are wrong. I said that to grant a licence to cut down these trees is like telling somebody they can knock down a Georgian square. They have a very important place in our history and for future generations. I said to somebody that these woods are part of our heritage. The reason people are so concerned was summed up very well for me when I visited there last Sunday. It is a matter of great regret that recently a licence was granted to fell a further 323 trees.
The former Taoiseach, Deputy Haughey, and the Minister for Energy at the time, Deputy Smith, stopped some of the tree felling. My two colleagues, Deputies Jacob and Roche, have worked very hard to ensure that further erosion of the woods does not take place. I have visited it over the past 20 years, and noticed even as late as last Sunday, how the beautiful forests are disappearing. It is a very beautiful part of the country. Many other people are also interested in it. I know this part of the country extremely well and that is why I have a personal interest in it. I ask the Minister to rescind the decision of the Minister for Energy to grant a licence for the felling of 323 trees in Tomnafinnoge Wood, Coolattin Estate, County Wicklow. However, I am sure the Minister of State will pass on what I say to him. I welcome the Minister of State but I am disappointed the Minister, Deputy O'Malley, is not here. Nuair a bhíonn tionchar tromchúiseach ag aithrisí.
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