asked the Minister for Lands if he will state if it is proposed to allow trees to be felled on Tore Mountain and/or at the approaches to Tore Waterfall to the detriment of the scenic grandeur of Killarney.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Felling of Killarney Trees.
It is not proposed to allow trees to be felled to the detriment of the scenic grandeur of Killarney. Any felling done or contemplated in the neighbourhood of Tore Waterfall is a selection felling and, though rather heavy, will preserve the ornamental aspect of the area and will allow of provision for the replacement of the trees to be felled. Most of these are already long past maturity and will not continue to stand indefinitely. Any trees to be felled are being specially selected with a view to supplementing the efforts being made to provide from the State forests as much material as possible for urgent national requirements, particularly for building.
The work of my Department in the whole Killarney forest area will add to rather than detract from its scenic value. Already within the past ten years over 900 acres of suitable mountain land have been planted while existing woods are being maintained and improved.
Arising out of the Minister's reply, could he tell us on whose advice the Minister has stated that the cutting down of certain trees in the neighbourhood of Tore Waterfall will add to rather than detract from the appearance of the place? If I heard him correctly, that is what I understood him to say. On whose advice does the Minister conclude that the appearance of Killarney will be improved rather than deteriorated if some of the trees in the neighbourhood of Tore Waterfall are to be cut?
I did not say that the appearance of the district would be improved by the felling of the trees, but I think the appearance of Tore district will be definitely disimproved if trees that are over-matured are not removed and the place replanted.
Whom did the Minister consult on the matter? Did he have the opinion of the people interested in the tourist business in Killarney?
Surely, the Department of Lands, which is in charge of Forestry, is the body best fitted to deal with the question of whether trees should be removed or not.
Would a person interested in the tourist business in Killarney be as good an authority on forestry as an official of the Department of Lands would be on the tourist business? It could be put one way as well as the other. Further, who purchased the trees? To whom were they sold, and were they advertised?
That is a separate question.
I have no objection to answering it, Sir. No Government Department can work in a vacuum. We are perfectly cognisant in the Department of Forestry as to what the needs of the Tourist Board are, and we are constantly trying to work hand in hand with the Tourist Board to preserve scenic amenities everywhere in the country. The particular small number of trees that were sold were not advertised. They were sold to a firm for a very special purpose concerned with the safety of the lives of the people of this country.
But rumour has it that 80 per cent. of the trees there are to be cut. Will the Minister affirm that or contradict it?
It could not be possible that 80 per cent. of the trees in Killarney——
In Tore district.
——will be cut, but we must cut a number of trees because there is a tremendous necessity for wood in the country for building and other purposes. Trees are not like the everlasting hills around Killarney. They come to maturity and die, and we are cutting down such trees and will replace them.
Is it only a small number of trees or is it 80 per cent. of the trees that clothe Tore Mountain that are to be cut?
I cannot give the Deputy the exact amount.
If all the trees or at least 80 per cent. of them are removed, one of the amenities there will be destroyed.