I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £316,370 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending the 31st day of March, 1950, for Salaries and Expenses in connection with Forestry (No. 13 of 1946), including a Grant-in-Aid for Acquisition of Land.
Before going into detail regarding items in this Estimate, I should like to make it clear that the Estimate is based on the former programme and does not include provision for the increased programme of 25,000 acres a year recently announced. Deputies are aware that the Government has decided upon the planting of not less than 25,000 acres a year in the future. But having regard to what has happened in the past and to the interruptions caused by the war an expansion to that extent cannot possibly be attained at short notice. The land has to be looked for and purchased. There are nowadays only very few large blocks of suitable land in the country and it has to be bought in comparatively small parcels from a large number of owners with the result that negotiations take time, particularly where the land is held in common by a number of persons and probably the fee simple interest by others. While the reserve of unplanted land on hands exceeds 25,000 acres the necessary transplants are not available either in the State or commercial nurseries and as transplants are normally three years old when planted out a certain interval must elapse before the necessary stocks can be raised. In the meantime, the rate of purchase of land must be stepped up to at least 30,000 acres a year and it would be preferable to increase the rate for the next three years to 50,000 acres or thereabouts in order to build up the necessary reserve of land to permit of proper co-ordination of nursery and planting. With this end in view, steps are being taken immediately to strengthen the staff engaged on land acquisition. Prices paid for forestry land are being adjusted to compensate for the decreased value of money and arrangements have been made to purchase greatly increased quanties of seed
With the assistance of the Department of External Affairs additional supplies of American and Canadian seed have been procured and are on the way. These will be sown immediately on arrival and will enable a substantial start to be made on the raising of additional stocks of transplants for future planting. The existing nurseries will then be fully stocked and additional nursery ground will be secured for lining out the seedlings and the sowing of still greater quantities of seed next season. Preliminary inquiries for the purchase of seed for next season's sowing are already being made and it is hoped by getting in early to secure our full requirements in a market where demand is at present in excess of the-supply.
The Department's local officers have been engaged for some time on a survey of all the plantable land in-the country which appears to be more suitable for planting than for agricultural purposes. Some of the results of this survey are already to hand and when the final returns are received it will be possible to concentrate effort on districts which give promise of providing large compact blocks of forest lands. This does not mean that other less promising districts will be ignored or neglected. Every offer of land not obviously unsuitable for one reason or another will be fully considered, but if we are to achieve immediate results the larger and more promising blocks must have prior attention.
The Forestry Act of 1946, which came into operation on the 1st instant, gives the Forestry Division additional powers for the compulsory acquisition of forestry land and the extinguishment of rights on lands already acquired. I do not wish to use compulsion except in instances where it is the only solution in cases of unknown or doubtful ownership, but I will not hesitate to do so where one or two recalcitrant persons hold up a scheme which will be of benefit to the locality concerned and the country generally.
Another factor which limited forestry operations for the past ten years is the lack of fencing materials. We have now built up a reserve of rabbit netting and the market for this type of material seems to be getting back to normal, so that I do not anticipate any difficulty in obtaining our full requirements in future.
As I have already stated, the Vote now asked for does not provide for greatly increased purchases of land, extensions of nurseries, etc., and as soon as may be necessary I will submit to the Dáil a Supplementary Estimate for such additional funds as may be found to be required later in the year.
During the past winter planting operations have been pushed forward as extensively as the supply of plants would permit, and up to the end of last month approximately 7,000 acres were planted. Planting is being continued this month and it is anticipated that at least another 1,000 acres will be completed before the end of the season, making a total of over 8,000 acres, which is the highest area of planting ever yet attained. For the coming season preparations are being made for a programme of 10,000 acres of planting and this may be exceeded if we can secure stocks of suitable plants from outside without too much risk of losses in transit.
The work of building up nursery stocks has been continued during the year, and orders have been placed for 2,790 lbs. of seed from the United States, Canada, Denmark, and Scotland. Of this quantity, 590 lbs. have already been received and the remainder is in transit. In addition, through the good offices of the Department of External Affairs, orders have been placed for an additional supply of 1,925 lbs. and, though it is not possible as yet to say how much will ultimately be received, there are good prospects of obtaining at least 1,200 lbs. The main species are Sitka Spruce, European and Japanese Larch, Pinus Contorta and Pinus Insignis, with smaller quantities of Scots Pine, Corsican Pine, Norway Spruce, Silver Fir, Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock. The home collection of seed has been pushed forward and quantities of seed of Oak, Beech, Japanese and European Larch, Scots Pine, Silver Fir, etc., have been secured, but the total quantity cannot be stated until the process of extracting the seed from the cones has been completed.
The Estimate for the coming year represents an increase of £27,255 on the total amount provided for 1948/49 but, as I have already pointed out, no provision has as yet been made for more than normal expansion of the planting programme. A slight decrease in the receipts from sales of timber is anticipated, mainly due to the low demand for firewood in most districts and the low prices now prevailing.
Turning to the different items in the Estimates, I propose to deal in detail only with those sub-heads which show appreciable differences from last year
Sub-head A—Salaries, Wages and Allowances—£92,377. The increase is due to a general advance in salaries. The housing surveyor, for whom provision was included in last year's Vote, has not yet taken up duty, but it is anticipated that an appointment will be made at an early date.
Sub-head B—Travelling Expenses— £10,000. Under this sub-head provision is made for the travelling expenses and allowances of the director, inspectors, foresters and foremen. An increase of £1,000 is required in view of the anticipated increase in travelling.
Sub-head C (1)—Acquisition of Land —Grant-in-Aid, £25,000. The provision under this head represents an increase of £5,000 over the amount originally provided last year, which was subsequently reduced to £8,000 to meet excesses on other sub-heads. This being a Grant-in-Aid, the unexpended balance at the end of any year is not surrendered, but is carried over in the grant to the next year. The amount available for land purchase during the year is not, therefore, only the amount voted that year, and a sum of approximately £28,000 is being carried over from 1948/49, making a total of £53,000 for acquisition during the present financial year. It is likely that this sum will not be sufficient to permit the purchase of even 25,000 acres at pre-war prices. There is, however, a considerable time lag, due to the necessity for investigating title, etc., between the striking of a bargain for the purchase of an area of land and the completion of the legal formalities; so that an increased programme of acquisition does not necessarily involve an immediate increase in expenditure, but if the need should arise I will come back to the Dáil for additional funds.
At present the Forestry Division has reached agreement with private landowners for the purchase of about 6,400 acres at a cost of £26,800, and with the Land Commission for the purchase of 2,175 acres for £9,500. Negotiations have reached an advanced stage for the purchase of 5,700 acres of privately owned land for a total of £22,500 and negotiations are proceeding with the Land Commission for the purchase of a further 5,150 acres at a cost of £20,570.
Fresh offers of land are being received daily and there seem to be good prospects of achieving a considerable expansion in the rate of acquisition. I hope to devote to this work the services of an increased number of inspectors so that every offer of land can be dealt with expeditiously. I should, however, like to mention that the Forestry Division does not propose to relieve landowners of every acre of waste land and that offers of small isolated areas of a few acres cannot be considered. I will deal with the question of the owners planting such pieces when I come to sub-head D. Moreover, the higher prices to be paid for land for forestry purposes will still be based on the value of the land for those purposes and persons offering land need not expect that I am going to pay prices far in excess of what the land would be worth or would fetch in the open market.
Sub-head C (2): Maintenance and Cultural Operations—£399,055. This is the main item in the Forestry Estimates and provides for the maintenance of existing plantations and the preparation and planting of new areas.
The amount originally voted under this sub-head last year was £317,655, and was intended to provide for a programme of 6,000 acres, which was the maximum area foreseen at the time the Estimate was framed in view of the existing supply conditions. Increases in the pay of the forestry labourers and increased purchases of fencing material, coupled with an increase in the planting programme rendered it necessary to ask the Dáil for an additional provision, which brought the total up to £404,000. There is now on hands a fair stock of rabbit netting. The purchase of lorries, tractors and trailers, and the acquisition of a bulldozer by the Forestry Division will reduce transport and road-making costs considerably.
The work of road-making, which has been in operation for some years past, will be continued this year with a view to facilitating the extraction of timber and poles from the woods. The home market for poles of all sorts continues good and any surplus can be disposed of for pit props.
Stocks in the State nurseries have been built up gradually since the war as supplies of seed became available. It is still difficult to procure seed of certain varieties and, in view of the increased programme now contemplated, it will be necessary to increase the area of nursery ground and to procure greatly enlarged quantities of seed of the species mainly in use. It is not at present possible to say exactly how much seed will be received in time for sowing this season, and though inquiries are being pursued vigorously it seems certain that the full quantity of Pinus Contorta, which we had hoped to obtain, will not be forthcoming.
Thinning operations are being pushed ahead as rapidly as possible, in order to overcome the arrears of this work which accumulated during the war years, and it is hoped that the Department will soon be able to find a market for thinnings too small for normal use as fencing posts, etc. When these small thinnings become available in greater quantity the question of their use industrially will be considered.
I explained last year that there would be a reduction in the expenditure on the running of the portable crosscutting machines owned by the Forestry Division. There has been a slight increase this year, due to the increase in the workers' wages and to the fact that, while the demand for firewood has fallen off, it has been found necessary to utilise the machines for the manufacture of fencing stakes both for sale and for the Division's own use. There is a fairly constant demand from the public for these stakes, and the Department's own requirements are increasing and are likely to continue to do so.
Sub-head C (3)—Timber Conversion— £6,940. Under this heading provision is made for the working of the Department's sawmills, especially those at Dundrum, County Tipperary, and Cong, County Mayo. These mills do a steady local trade in rough boards, cart material, fencing stakes, etc. The mill at Dundrum has been entirely reorganised for more efficient working. The old tarred wooden buildings, which were in constant danger from fire have been replaced during the past year by concrete and galvanised iron structures. The drying kilns, to which reference was made last year, have not been quite finished. The buildings are practically ready, but supply of the equipment has been held up by the contractors who have promised delivery at an early date. As soon as the machinery is installed, the Department will be in a position to season native timber for its own use and for sale. The mill at Cong is not satisfactory and is so cramped for space that the handling of timber is both slow and expensive. It is proposed during the current year to remodel the mill, probably, on a new site, and with a new source of power. This work will be put in hands as soon as improvements at Dundrum have been finished.
Sub-head D—Grants for Afforestation Purposes—£2,000. No increase is proposed in the provision under this sub-head, out of which payment is made of the grant of £10 per acre which, under certain conditions, is paid to private landowners and local authorities who carry out planting conditions on their own lands. This grant has been payable since 1944-45 but owing to conditions prevailing during the war and post-war years, mainly the scarcity and high price of fencing materials and transplants, it has not been availed of extensively. This situation is righting itself slowly and I am assured by the nursery trade that they now have in stocks some million of seedlings which within the next two years will be ready for sale as transplants for final planting. I hope that when that stage arrives there will be a large amount of voluntary planting in addition to the planting which must be done by persons who have obtained felling licences in the past. No amount of commercial planting by the State will suffice to restore and to improve the wooded appearance of the countryside unless it is accompanied by widespread planting of shelter belts and ornamental groves and groups of trees by private individuals on their own lands.
With regard to Appropriations-in-Aid, £84,133, a small decrease in receipts is anticipated this year. This is mainly due to the poor market for firewood and the diminishing amount of mature timber remaining for sale. This reduction will, however, be largely compensated for by the sale of poles and thinnings for which there continues to be a good demand.
The number of felling notices, under the Forestry Act, received during the past year shows a decided drop as compared with previous years and is now down to pre-war level.
The Forestry Act of 1946 came into operation on 1st instant. Apart from provisions to simplify the compulsory acquisition of land for forestry purposes and the extinguishment of rights preventing the planting of lands already acquired, the main intentions of the Act are to improve the control over tree felling and to tighten up requirements as regards replanting. Heretofore, a licensee's legal obligations were fulfilled if he merely planted the specified number of trees and did not care what happened to the plants. In future, he may be required to fence the plants securely against stock and vermin and to maintain and protect them for a period of ten years after planting. In this way it will be possible to enforce the replacement of cleared groves and woodlands and so gradually restore the amenities of which the demands of industry during the war years and the ravages of the firewood campaigns have robbed the country.
Frequent complaint is made that replanting is not insisted upon immediately after felling, but I have explained already some of the difficulties which prevented such a course. With the return of more normal conditions, these difficulties are disappearing, and I propose, as soon as reasonably possible, to review the planting conditions in every felling licence and to insist upon their being carried out. The 1946 Act makes a replanting condition a burden on the land and in the case of registered land the obligation will be entered on the appropriate folio in the Land Registry and will remain there until it has been discharged. In this way it is hoped to stop the practice of selling the land on which replanting is to be done and so endeavouring to avoid carrying out the replanting condition. Such a proceeding does not in fact relieve the licensee of his obligation and I propose to pursue with the greatest vigour persons who have tried to escape their liabilities in this fashion.