asked the Minister for Lands if he is aware that the Rydell Report recommends that an active policy of forest planting be continued to the maximum extent practicable within the Shannon River basin as a means of easing the flood problem; and, if so, if he will indicate what action has been taken to implement the recommendation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Shannon Flooding.
13.
My Department is fully aware of the recommendation in the Rydell report that its active policy of afforestation in the Shannon basin should be continued. Since 1956, when the report was presented, over 50,000 acres have been planted in the Shannon basin in pursuance of that policy.
When the Minister refers to the Shannon Basin, does he, from the point of view of afforestation, include in that all the tributaries of the Shannon? Presumably the Shannon Basin is the Shannon Valley and all its tributaries. Do I gather the Forestry Branch works on that basis?
The Deputy asked about the "Shannon River basin" and I have given the Deputy the information at my disposal.
Does the Department of Lands work on its own or does it work in co-operation or conjunction with, or under the direction of, any other body responsible for the Shannon drainage problem?
So far as afforestation is concerned, my Department works on its own. The Deputy will appreciate my Department cannot plant land it is not able to get and planting in the Shannon Basin, or elsewhere, must depend on the availability of land on offer to the Department.
I appreciate that, but that is not the question I asked. Does the Minister's Department work completely as a separate unit in relation to afforestation in the Shannon Valley or does it work as part of an overall plan supervised by some body or group responsible for clearing the region around the Shannon of flooding?
Nobody supervises my Department in the Shannon basin or elsewhere.
We have then no overall authority responsible for this problem.
There is my overall authority for the planting programme in the country, and that is sufficient.