I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £881,850 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1955, for Salaries and Expenses in connection with Forestry (No. 13 of 1946), including a Grant-in-Aid for acquisition of Land.
The nett Forestry Estimate for 1954/55 at £1,272,850 shows an increase of £41,690 over the Estimate for 1953/54. Of this nett increase £7,050 is due to reduced allowance for Appropriations-in-Aid and the balance £34,640 is the increase in the gross Estimate. There are increases on all the significant expenditure sub-heads other than sub-head C (1) the Grant-in-Aid of the acquisition of land.
Sub-head A shows an increase of £32,560 for salaries, wages and allowances. This figure is misleading in so far as it takes no note of the sum of £10,360 transferred from the Vote for Increases in Remuneration in 1953/54; almost all of the transferred sum would relate to salaries payable from sub-head A and the nett increase in sub-head A in 1954/55 is, therefore, only about £23,000. Some of this increase in the provision follows from incremental rises in the salaries of individual officers but the majority is due to a provision of additional staff for the Secretariat and Accounts Branch, extra mapping staff and additional foresters necessary in connection with the regular growth of the State Forest service. Some additional inspectorate staff has also to be taken into account.
Sub-head B—Travelling Expenses— shows an increase of £4,500. The increase follows from the expansion in the number and size of forest units coupled with allowance for increased field staff.
An increase of £7,190 on sub-head E (1), Forestry Education, is occasioned almost entirely by a bulk sum provision of £7,000 to meet charges which will fall upon this sub-head in consequence of new arrangements for the training of future forester staff which will come into operation this year. The arrangements envisage the opening of a new practical training centre for forestry trainees at Kinnitty Castle. The trainees will spend a year at this new practical training centre, and will spend the remaining two years of their course of training at the new school of forestry at Shelton Abbey, which will replace Avondale School. Difficulties in placement of a contract by the Office of Public Works caused delay in the adaptation of Kinnitty Castle for its new use, but the work is now in hands and it should be possible to open the practical training centre there inside the next couple of months. Structural work on Shelton Abbey is progressing satisfactorily, and it is hoped that the school of forestry will be transferred there early in 1955. These new arrangements will enable the Department to discontinue the system under which forestry trainees were required to find their own board. Trainees will in future receive full board and accommodation, with a personal allowance to meet incidental expenditure, whereas hitherto they were paid the local wage rates of forestry labourers, accommodation alone being provided. The provision of £7,000 provides for the extra cost to be incurred in the management of Shelton Abbey and Kinnitty Castle, the cost of board for the trainees and the payment to them of allowances; the figure does not, of course, cover a full year's expenditure. There is an offsetting saving on sub-head C (2) against which the wages of forestry trainees were hitherto charged.
Under sub-head C (1), £163,000 was provided in the Vote for 1953-54 by way of Grant-in-Aid for the acquisition of land in addition to a balance of £9,393 carried forward from the previous year. The total available for 1953-54 was, therefore, £172,393. Expenditure during that year amounted to £112,546 compared with £120,875 in 1952-53; the balance remaining in the fund on the 31st March, 1954, was £59,847. The additional £135,000 now being sought will thus make available for this year a total of almost £195,000 which should be adequate to meet any expenditure foreseeable during the year.
The total area acquired in 1953/54 was 20,443 acres compared with a total of 19,418 acres in 1952/53. The final figure of plantable area acquired in 1953/54 has not yet been determined but it is expected to be a little greater than the 1952/53 figure of 16,784 acres.
New forests were established during the year at Strokestown, County Roscommon; Tourmakeady, County Mayo; Ben Bulben, County Sligo, and Cuileagh, County Cavan.
At the 1st April, 1954, title was being or had been established to 21,230 acres which the Department had agreed to buy compared with 23,260 acres at the commencement of 1953/54. Negotiations were in hands for the purchase of a further 24,010 acres compared with 31,577 acres in 1953/54. These figures exclude areas likely to be transferred from the Land Commission amounting at 1st April, 1954, to 498 acres apart from a further 3,398 acres awaiting inspection.
The plantable reserve at the 1st April, 1953, was 37,925 acres. The area of plantable land acquired last year exceeded the area planted during the year by about 5,000 acres and the plantable reserve at the 1st April, 1954, was, therefore, approximately 43,000 acres. I told the Dáil clearly when I was in office before that we must have a plantable reserve of more than three times the annual planting rate if we are to run forestry properly. Last year my predecessor went into great detail to explain to the Dáil the reasons for this plantable reserve and he stressed the importance of increasing it if new forestry development is to be put on a properly organised basis of nursery production governed by plant requirements known at the time of ordering and sowing the seed. I need hardly go further into this matter at the moment but the House must bear in mind that, while seeking to lay down new plantations at the maximum practicable rate consistent with this country's timber requirements, we must try to push ahead even more rapidly with the acquisition of land in order to bring the plantable reserve into more balanced relationship with the planting rate.
Turning to sub-head C (2)—Forest Development and Maintenance, and sub-head C (3) (1)—Timber Conversion in State Forests, which between them bear the field costs in forest development and management, Deputies will find that the aggregate provision of £1,066,270 shows an increase of £31,750. This increase, slightly over 3 per cent., is small having regard to the inevitable annual expansion of the volume of work in existing State plantations coupled with fresh planting. I am told that the volume of work to be undertaken during 1954-55 has proved greater than the provisions under these sub-heads will cover. The whole matter was the subject of intensive examination in the Department before the new Government took office and the position is not yet fully clear. All I can tell the House at the moment with certainty is that current expectations in regard to work in the State forests this year indicate that the provisions in these sub-heads in the Estimate now before the House were undercast. It seems that the difficulty is in part due to a greater incidence of wage increases in various counties than was anticipated when the Estimate was framed. A contributory factor was that disappointing progress with some aspects of work in the early part of last year suggested caution in estimation of the amount of work that it might be possible to overtake during 1954-55; that caution has since proved unwarranted. Ample labour was available in the latter part of 1953-54 and the fall-off in progress in the early part of that year had been remedied before the close of the year. In the process the aggregate forest labour staff, which had approximated 3,700 men in the early part of 1953-54, was increased to the abnormally high level of 5,250 men at the annual peak period in mid-March, 1954. During the past three months when some seasonal reduction in labour staffs would in any event have taken place, there has been a progressive reduction of staff to a current figure of a little over 4,300 men. Even that reduced figure is in excess of the average for the year allowable within the framework of the Estimate now before the House. The Estimate as drafted allowed for an average employment during the year of a little over 4,200 men as compared with the average of 4,175 men which the 1953-54 Estimate has been designed to cover. Even the present reduced employment level is, therefore, higher than the average contemplated by the Estimate, whereas at this time of the year employment should be below average to allow for some increase during the busy winter period. I am assured that the present labour staffs are required for work which is essential to proper forest development and management. The whole matter will have to be the subject of further close examination to see what savings elsewhere on the Vote can be made available to offset the excess charge on labour heads and, in the meantime, I can only put the Estimate before the House in its present form.
Of the aggregate increase of £31,750 on sub-head C (2) and sub-head C (3) (1)—£29,000 relates to the provisions for labour and only £2,750 constitutes the nett addition to non-labour items. Most of the non-labour items require no comment. There is a reduction of £5,250 in the provision for cartage and freight under the head of Capital Expenditure; this reduction is rendered possible by a saving secured by increased use of wheeled tractors and trailers for the cartage of road materials. There is an increase of £5,000 in the provision for materials under the head of Constructional Expenditure; the additional amount is required for the purchase of artificial manures to assist new plantations on poor soils. This particular head also bears the cost of fencing materials; an appreciable reserve stock of fencing materials was built up some years ago and it is intended this year to repeat last year's procedure of drawing heavily from this reserve stock, purchasing only materials of which there are inadequate stocks. There is an increase of £5,500 in the provision for protection under the head of Maintenance but the increase is in the main due to a change in accounting procedure under which expenditure previously charged to the Maintenance Labour head will in future be charged as protection costs.
Analysing the increase of £29,000 under Labour heads, it will be found that an additional £20,000 is provided for Capital Expenditure and £10,000 for Constructional Expenditure in sub-head C (2) while an extra £9,500 is provided in sub-head C (3) (1) for Timber Conversion in State Forests. These increases are offset in part by a reduction of £10,500 in the provision for the State Forest Nurseries.
The reduction in the Labour provision for nurseries does not portend any contraction in nursery operations, the reduced figure is made possible by an alteration in practice in regard to the allocation between the various Labour heads of certain overhead expenditure related to holidays, payment for time lost due to inclement weather and so forth. Charging procedure hitherto threw an excessive proportion of these overheads against nursery cost and that situation has now been remedied. Nursery production is being continued this year on the same scale as in recent years, i.e., adequate to meet any increase in the planting rate to about 15,000 acres. New seed beds laid down this spring were on that scale but there was a shortage of Pinus Contorta seed due to inadequate supplies on world markets. At this stage, it is impossible to say with certainty whether the shortage of supply of this species which figures largely in planting in recent years will create any difficulty in the maintenance of planting programmes in a couple of years' time. There is a reasonable hope that the carry forward of stocks from the previous year's sowing may reduce the deficiency sufficiently to obviate any interference with planting progress.
Part of the provision under the head of Capital Expenditure relates to the construction of new forest roads. This work has had to receive much greater attention in recent years to facilitate the extraction of thinnings. In 1952-53 about 50 miles of new roads were laid down compared with a much smaller mileage in any previous year. Last year the construction of about 70 miles of new roads was contemplated. Progress on this work in particular was very slow in the early part of the year but a total of about 66 miles of new roads was achieved by the close of the year. In view of the slow progress in the earlier part of last year, it was deemed inadvisable when preparing the 1954-55 Estimate to allow for any increase in work under this head over the level contemplated by the 1953-54 Estimate and provision was ultimately made on a slightly smaller scale than last year. It is now clear that provision for a further increase in the volume of this work in 1954-55 would have been desirable.
Apart from a small sum for building construction the remainder of the labour provision under the head of Capital Expenditure is concerned with the preparation and drainage of ground for planting and the increased provision under the head save in so far as it allows for higher wage rates is related to this aspect of the work. This increase and the additional provision for labour under the head of constructional expenditure is intended to meet a projected increase in the planting rate. As I have already stated, the plantable reserve at 1st April, 1954, amounted to approximately 43,000 acres compared with 38,000 acres 12 months previously. This improved reserve will enable the planting rate to be increased this year above the 12,500 acre limit applied in the last two planting seasons. It will be possible in the coming season to plant 13,500 acres. As to the future, every effort will be made to build up the plantable reserve upon which planting over the next three, four, or even five years depends with a view to attaining the maximum possible planting rate.
The provision for labour under the head of maintenance is the same as in 1953/54. In that year the provision had been increased appreciably to ensure against a repetition of the underestimation of requirements under this head which had been experienced over a number of previous years. In the outturn it transpired that the increased provision last year was somewhat greater than was needed and it was considered possible to limit the provision in 1954-55 to the same level as in 1953/54, notwithstanding the progressive increase in the volume of maintenance work with the growth in the area of plantations. Work contemplated for the year includes the weeding and pruning of about 12,400 acres of plantations approaching the thinning stage compared with 11,150 acres in 1953-54. The area of young plantation requiring cleaning should prove slightly greater than in 1953/54 when 56,500 acres were handled. Replacement of failures in young plantations over an area of 10,350 acres is contemplated; 12,370 acres were dealt with in 1953-54 and this work is now fairly well up to date.
Of the provision of £122,500 for labour under the head of timber conversion in State forests, approximately £95,000 relates to thinning operations and the increase in the provision is concerned with this aspect of the work. In 1953-54 slightly under 8,000 acres of plantations were thinned compared with 7,750 acres in the previous year. It is hoped to thin up to 9,000 acres in 1954-55.
Turning now to sub-head C (3) (2) under which provision is made for the operation of fixed sawmills, I am glad to be able to report to the House that the new sawmill at Cong, County Mayo, commenced work last month The total provision under the head of Sawmilling is £5,000 lower than in 1953-54. The decrease in expenditure follows from the completion of construction work at Cong. Apart from a small sum to cover some outstanding expenditure at Cong mill, the provision for 1954-55 is limited to the ordinary running costs of that mill and the sawmill at Dundrum, County Tipperary.
Expenditure on sub-head D in respect of Grants for Afforestation purposes amounted to £3,022 in 1953-54 compared with £2,550 in the previous year. First instalments of grants in respect of 55 new plantations totalling 360 acres were paid. These figures seem to afford some evidence of increasing public interest in the Scheme of Grants and allowance has been made for a further increase in expenditure to £3,500 in 1954-55. Sub-head E (2)—Exhibits at Shows—and sub-head F—Agency Advisory and Special Services—require no comments. The provisions under both sub-heads are the same as in 1953-54.
The provision under sub-head G is higher by £1,100 than in 1953-54. When the 1953-54 Estimate was before the Dáil, it was explained that the provision under this sub-head for that year was likely to prove inadequate, an additional amount having to be provided in a Supplementary Estimate in the previous year. The actual total of expenditure in 1953/54 exceeded £2,400 and the provision for 1954-55 is therefore if anything still on the low side. Expenditure on advertising is the heaviest item of charge under this sub-head and the cost of advertising has been swollen in recent years by the need for increased publicity in regard to the danger of forest fires.
The allowance made for Appropriations-in-Aid in sub-head H is £7,000 lower than in 1953-54. Total receipts in that year amounted to £166,340, falling almost £4,000 short of expectations. With some uncertainty in the timber market it was considered advisable to allow in 1954-55 for a reduction of £10,000 in the possible receipts from sales of timber, but this reduction is offset in part by anticipation of an increase in sawmill receipts. The allowance for sawmill receipts in the 1953-54 Estimate assumed that the new sawmill at Cong would be in operation for portion of the year. This year it is possible to allow for almost a full year's operation at that mill, but the mill will naturally not reach full production in its early stages. It is customary before concluding introduction of a Forestry Estimate to refer to the Department's control of tree felling on private lands under the provisions of the Forestry Act, 1946. The only matter of note in this regard in relation to the past year was the pleasing fact of a significant reduction in the number of cases of felling in contravention of the provisions of the Act reported to the Department. Only 51 such cases were brought to the attention of the Department, compared with 124 in the previous year. In 34 cases it was considered necessary to prosecute and in all but two of these cases convictions were obtained.