asked the Minister for Lands if he will state in respect of North Tipperary (a) the area of forestry land at present in the hands of his Department, (b) the area of this land which is planted (c) what areas are under consideration for acquisition for forestry purposes, and (d) what number of men are employed in forestry work.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - North Tipperary Forestry Lands.
35.
The productive area of land now held by the Forestry Division of my Department in North Tipperary is 10,512 acres, of which 8,706 acres have been planted.
There are at present 178 areas totalling 5,470 acres on offer for afforestation purposes in North Tipperary. Agreement to purchase has been reached in the case of 24 of these areas totalling 1,127 acres and title is in course of clearance. Negotiations to purchase are in progress with the owners of another 26 areas totalling 1,248 acres. The remaining cases are at the preliminary stages of investigation.
The number of men at present employed at the Forests in North Tipperary is 109.