The major backlog of tree felling applications has left the Irish timber market highly unstable -- with forestry contractors and farmers taking a big financial hit.
That's according to independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice, who says the government should have done more to persuade the main banks to provide emergency loans.
The minister told the Dáil this week he has 26 inspectors working through felling applications -- up from just one a year ago.
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Deputy Fitzmaurice says the administrative delay will be plain to see across the Irish landscape in the decades to come.
