asked the Minister for Lands if he will state in respect of County Kerry the number of acres and the location of the land (1) purchased by his Department for forestry purposes, (2) already planted, and (3) in course of preparation for planting; whether his Department are negotiating with private owners to purchase lands for forestry purposes; and, if so, the acreage and location of land involved.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Kerry Forestry Operations.
69.
The total productive area so far acquired by the Forestry Division of my Department in County Kerry is 13,988 acres, comprising Brosna, Cahirciveen, Castlegregory, Kenmare, Kilgarvan, Killarney and Killorglin Forests. A total of 9,944 acres has been planted to date at these centres and areas totalling 1,167 acres will be planted there during 1962/63.
As regards prospects for further land acquisition in Co. Kerry, the position is that at a recent date the Forestry Division was dealing with a total area of 13,759 acres which had been offered for afforestation purposes in the county. Agreement to purchase had been reached in 31 cases with a total area of 2,797 acres and title to these areas was in course of clearance. Negotiations were in progress for the purchase of 33 areas totalling 3,252 acres and the remaining cases were at the preliminary stages of investigation.