asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether a permit for the export of timber in the round has recently been issued and, if so, if he will state the circumstances in which it was issued.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Export of Timber.
Since 1st April, 1956, my Department has issued 35 licences for the export of softwood timber in the round and seven for the export of hardwood timber.
The export licences for softwoods covered a quantity of about 26,000 tons of timber of the pitwood variety.
The export licences for hardwood in the round comprised 678 logs from the Inishowen Peninsula which because of the remoteness of the area could not be economically disposed of in the home market; three walnut logs exported for conversion into veneers and return to this country and 220 logs of ash, oak and sycamore experimentally exported for the purpose of testing the suitability of these types of hardwoods for the production of veneers.
This experiment was under the auspices of the Industrial Development Authority, which is examining the possibility of establishing a veneer mill in this country.
Mr. de Valera
Could the Minister say whether it would not have been possible to transport the wood by sea from Inishowen?
That seems to be a separate question.
The difficulty there is that those who have the timber in that area say it is too far away from the nearest sawmills and, therefore, they cannot sell the timber they have to the sawmills because of the uneconomic price at which it would land at the mill. It is to facilitate them that they have been permitted to export the timber.