, Cavan): Turning to the Forestry Vote, the total net provision for 1973-74 is £7,812,000, an increase of £313,000 over the 1972-73 provision. The increase of £313,000 stems largely from increased provision for wages and salaries of some £693,000 arising mainly from the impact of pay increases and price increases partly offset by a reduction of £160,000 in the grant-in-aid for land acquisition and by £216,000 expected increases in income from sales of timber. The following is the position regarding the individual subheads:
Subhead A—Salaries, Wages and Allowances—at £2,204,000 shows an increase of £331,000 over the provision for 1972-73. The increase is mainly due to the effect of pay increases, some increase in staff numbers and an increase in the provision for housing allowances due to a change in policy whereby foresters are now encouraged to provide their own houses. The effect of this can be seen in a reduction in the provisions for new buildings in subhead C.2.
Subhead B.1—Travelling and Incidental Expenses—at £459,000 shows an increase of £74,000 over the 1971-72 provision due mainly to increased travelling costs and an increase in miscellaneous expenses such as contract cleaning.
Subhead B.2—Post Office Services —at £67,000 shows a decrease of £2,000 on the 1972-73 Estimate. The reduction is due to a decrease in the charge for postal services, partly offset by increased costs arising mainly from the extension of forest telephone services.
Subhead C.1—This is the grant-in-aid for acquisition of land. The balance remaining in the fund at 1st April, 1973, was £575,697. In view of the size of this balance I am providing in this Estimate a sum of £560,000 only, giving a total sum available for land acquisition for the current year of £1,135,697.
The gross areas acquired in the years 1971-72 and 1972-73 were 15,076 hectares, 37,253 acres, and 14,761 hectares, 36,474 acres, respectively.
Price agreement for the purchase of land for State forestry is becoming still more difficult to achieve and there is a trend towards a slower rate of closing of sales. The scale of land valuation was, in fact, increased during 1972 and some temporary easing of the difficulties of acquisition may be expected as a result. However, in a market where rising land values persist, it is very difficult to predict future acquisition prospects but Deputies can be assured that no effort will be spared to attain our targets for acquisition.
So far as availability of money is concerned, I should point out that the total of £1,136,000 available for land acquisition in 1973-74 is the highest figure made available in one year, so that the purchase of land will not be inhibited by lack of funds.
Subhead C2, Forest Development and Management, this is the main expenditure subhead in this Vote. The major provisions in the subhead relate to the raising of nursery stock in the State forest nurseries, the establishment costs of all new plantations including ground preparation and fencing, road and bridge construction, the development of facilities for public recreation in our forests, the purchase and maintenance of all forest machinery and the hire of suitable machinery from outside sources, the general cost of maintaining and protecting all our existing acreage of forest plantations, and, finally, the cost of such timber felling and conversion as we undertake by direct labour in our forests. The total provision for the current year at £5,527,000 shows an overall increase of £238,000 on the provision for 1972-73 and this arises largely from the cost of wage and price increases partly offset by a reduction in building expenditure.
Turning to the individual parts of this subhead, the provision under C2.1, State Forest Nurseries, at £340,000 shows an increase of £46,000 attributable to wage and price increases. Provision is made under C2.2, Establishment of Plantations, for a full planting programme of 10,000 hectares, 25,000 acres, although the sum provided at £1,636,000 is only £25,000 in excess of the 1972-73 provision. Continued attention to the efficient use of resources has in this case largely offset the effects of rising wages and prices.
Under the heading of New Roads and Buildings, C2.3, the provision of £467,000 shows a decrease of £48,000 on the 1972-73 provision. The decrease is mainly due to a saving of £81,000 arising from a decision to encourage foresters to provide their own houses rather than to pursue a house building programme. There is, of course, a rise in the cost of house allowance which is included under subhead A, Salaries Wages and Allowances, as a result.
Provision of £826,000 under C2.5 for the replacement and maintenance of Mechanical Equipment for Forest Development and Management shows an increase of £124,000 arising partly from price increases and partly from replacement of heavy plant and machinery.
Provision for general Forest Management C2.6 at £1,725,000 shows an increase of only £14,000 despite an extension of 10,000 hectares, 25,000 acres, in the area of woods and plantations to 241,782 hectares, 597,443 acres, and other increased costs.
The provision for Timber Conversion C2.7 at £360,000 shows an increase of £14,000 attributable also to wage and price increases. The provision for Amenity Development C2.4 at £171,000 shows an increase of £43,000 on the 1972-73 provision. Deputies will be aware of the many areas of "open forest" which have been opened for public use in recent years. Facilities for public recreation and amenity can be provided in our forests at a relatively low cost having regard to their value to our own people and as a tourist asset.
Most towns of significant size are now within easy reach of an open forest area be it a forest park such as Lough Key, Avondale or Gougane Barra, or a more modest development providing picnicking or other facilities or simply a pleasant area to walk through.
While we will continue to open new areas it is proposed that in the immediate future more emphasis will be placed on the provision of additional facilities for the visitor in areas already developed.
I feel sure that Deputies will be appreciative of the work being done by the Forest and Wildlife Service in this field and will endorse the modest increase proposed to enable the work to continue.
Subhead C.3, Sawmilling, at £79,000 shows an increase of £11,000 on the 1972-73 Estimate due to wage increases, increased running expenses and provision of new machinery and improved water supply.
Subhead D, Grants for afforestation purposes, at £35,000 shows an increase of £10,000 over the 1972-73 provision. The increase is in line with the increased scheme of grants for the private sector of forestry announced last year.
It is too early yet to measure the effects of the grant increases which were introduced only in the current planting season and are hardly likely to be fully effective until next year.
In view of the fact, however, that we have had almost 1,000 inquiries for further information and that already 150 applications have been made for advisory inspections, I am hopeful that the revised grants will have the desired effect of encouraging our farmers and landowners to lay down plantations and so improve the beauty and amenity of their holdings and at the same time add to their economic value.
Subhead E, Forestry Education, at £52,000 shows a decrease of £2,000 on the 1972-73 provision. Under the arrangements initiated last year the first group of 14 final year trainees completed their course in March, 1973. A second group of 17 trainees will be due to complete their course in March, 1974, and a further group of approximately 14 trainees will be recruited early in the coming year.
Subhead F, John F. Kennedy Park, at £48,000 shows an increase of £2,000 on the provision for 1972-73, due to wage increases and an increase in development costs.
The park, while still in the developmental stage as an arboretum and forest plot area, continues, nonetheless, to attract large numbers of visitors annually. There is little doubt that as the park is developed there will be a steady increase in the number of visitors who come to use its scientific, research and educational facilities as well as those who come merely to enjoy its recreational features.
Subhead G, £107,000, relates to game development and management and provision for the current year represents an increase of some £13,000, mainly to meet rising costs. The main expenditure under the subhead is on grants to regional game councils to assist game development schemes throughout the country. These schemes, which are formulated and operated in consultation with the Department's advisory staff, cover a variety of activities including restocking programmes, habitat development and control of predators. Some financial provision for tourist projects, such as the provision of shoot facilities for visiting sportsmen under a scheme sponsored jointly by my Department and Bord Fáilte, is also made available under this subhead. The final elements in the subhead relate to game development in a number of State forests and other minor expenses affecting the game development programme.
I am glad to say that the system for dealing with game councils' schemes has been substantially improved in recent years in consultation with the National Association of Regional Game Councils and I look forward to a continuation of the harmonious relations which have been established with that organisation as a step towards improving and accelerating the game development programme.
Each year a Game Birds Protection Order is made setting out the open seasons for the various game species and also defining "no-shooting" areas or sanctuaries. The 1973 order will be made by me at an early date. This means that it will appear somewhat later than last year but the extra time will permit the current year's breeding success to be more fully assessed and should eliminate the need for an amending order such as had to be made last year. The number of sanctuaries established throughout the country to date stands at 26 but I hope to be able to add a few more to this network under the forthcoming order.
As I have already mentioned, my Department and Bord Fáilte are jointly engaged in stimulating the development of shooting facilities for visiting sportsmen. A scheme is in operation whereby grants are made available to assist projects catering for out-of-State "guns", subject, of course, to the maintenance of high standards of sportsmanship. In this sector, however, there is a very clear need for strict control over people who come here to shoot—not only in relation to the numbers coming and the shooting pressure which they would exert but also as regards the actual places over which they shoot and their general attitude to shooting in Ireland. There can be no welcome for visitors—and particularly large groups—who arrive here for game shooting without first having made bona fide arrangements for their shooting holiday: certainly any hotel or agency who might wish to give the impression to outsiders that there is an abundance of free game shooting in this country will get no encouragement from me, nor to my certain knowledge, from Bord Fáilte.
Subhead H—is a grant-in-aid to finance a comprehensive national programme for conservation. This year, a further £100,000, or a repeat of last year's provision is proposed. As the Book of Estimates shows, expenditure under this subhead is not confined to the Forest and Wildlife Service; for which operates in conjunction with example, a substantial allocation has been earmarked for the establishment by the Department of Education of a field study centre in Country Donegal.
In addition to the establishment of sanctuaries to which I have already referred, the Forest and Wildlife Service has a number of important projects in hand in the wildlife conservation sector. The most important of these is the development of a major national Wildfowl Reserve on the North Slob, Wexford, with the Greenland Whitefronted goose as the predominant feature. Already much development has taken place and some essential buildings are at present in course of construction. The possibility of a formal opening ceremony next spring is under consideration but this will depend largely on progress on building work. The development of Portumna Forest as a wildlife park, in which deer will be the main—but by no means the only—attraction, was commenced during the year, A more modest development is taking place on another forest property at Lissadell, County Sligo where the primary concern is for barnacle geese. In all of these developments the objective is not merely the obvious one of species conservation but, perhaps more important, the creation of facilities whereby the public can see and enjoy our wildlife in circumstances which will be educational as well as recreational.
The research and educational aspects of wildlife conservation are continually expanding. Some research projects, for example on native oak woodlands, deer, pine marten, et cetera are undertaken by Forest and Wildlife Service personnel while other aspects for example, grouse, mallard, peregrine falcon, squirrels, et cetera are entrusted on a commission basis to outside agencies. In addition, some financial assistance has been made available to conservation organisations in connection with their survey and census work on numbers and distribution of certain species of wild birds. In the educational sphere, a mobile exhibit depicting some ecological aspects of the work of the Forest and Wildlife Service makes an annual itinerary of post primary schools and agricultural shows; an annual series of weekend residential courses at Avondale, aimed at affording youth leaders an opportunity of improving their knowledge of wildlife conservation, is now a regular feature; an information service for the public, in the form of handouts, brochures and other suitable literature is being gradually developed.
On the subject of wildlife conservation generally I should perhaps say that it is quite clear to me, even from my short association with the Department, that the existing statutory framework is completely inadequate to permit a comprehensive programme to be undertaken and there is no gainsaying the need for up-to-date legislation if worthwhile progress is to be made in this very wide field. As I indicated to the House recently, there are, in fact, draft proposals for such legislation in my Department and I am at present studying these with a view to making an early submission to the Government in the matter.
Subhead I—Agency, Advisory and Special Service—at £60,000 shows an increase of £14,000 on the 1972-73 provision. The main element in this subhead is the timber technology research programme being undertaken by the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards on behalf of the Forest and Wildlife Service. The increase arises mainly from increased salary costs of institute staff.
Subhead J—Appropriations-in-Aid —at a figure of £1,486,000 shows an increase of £216,000 in estimated revenue over the estimate for 1972-73. Sales of timber at a figure of £1,383,000 account for £195,000— most of the increase anticipated. The increase reflects partly the increase in the quantity of wood coming on the market and partly provision for an increase in timber prices which have been very buoyant in recent months.
In my predecessor's speech on the Estimate last year reference was made to the Forest and Wildlife Service's programme budgeting system. This system was further developed during the year and the computerbased management information system programme budgeting furnished monthly reports on the cost of manual operations in the forests together with the outputs achieved under the various operational headings. Considerable benefits in planning and control continue to derive from programming budgeting and its ancillary techniques.
Everyone is aware of the value of the forest as a source of raw material and wealth and in recent years the public has become more conscious of the forest's potential for recreation and amenity and of its resource use in the conservation of wildlife. The major enemy of our forests is, of course, fire. Every year through carelessness, thoughtlessness or wilful selfishness hundreds of acres of forests —in which the Irish taxpayer has invested many millions of pounds—are destroyed by fire. With the destruction goes not only a loss of hard cash but of amenity and wildlife potential also.
During the last year—and in particular the last few months—when our forests were particularly vulnerable because of late growth and drying winds—damage was very severe. In the year 1972-73, 292 fires were reported in the vicinity of State plantations. Ninety-five of these actually entered the plantations and destroyed 1,300 acres valued approximately at £40,000. The greater part of the damage occurred in March when 950 acres were destroyed. Already in April and May of this year a further 630 acres have literally gone up in smoke so that some £63,000 worth of damage has occurred in less than three months. Admittedly in the prevailing conditions forests were particularly vulnerable at that period. For the most part, however, these were fires which could have been avoided by a little foresight and care.
We are sometimes criticised for not spending more money on protective measures. I must point out, however, that sums in excess of £300,000 annually are spent on the safeguarding of plantations. Such expenditure includes the provision of firelines and water supplies, co-operation with farmers who are moor burning, payments for firewatching and advertising aimed at warning the public of the dangers. There is a limit to what can reasonably be spent in protecting the widely spread State plantations and further substantial increases in such expenditure would, in my view, be subject to the law of diminishing returns and would not be justified.
Forests which are normally located in remote areas far from water supplies and with limited road access must continue to depend largely for their safety on the common sense and goodwill of their owners—the citizens of this country. I would urge again that the forests are there for economic benefit and public enjoyment. We must not endanger them through carelessness in lighting of fires or discarding of cigarettes or matches.
To the hill farmer I would say: if you feel you must burn to improve grazing, then follow the simple rules of notifying the Garda and your local forester in writing. Co-operate with your local forester in fixing a suitable time and date to do the burning, thus enabling him to have staff on hand to cope with the fire danger.
I would like to give an assurance that any farmer who follows these simple rules and who burns under arrangements with the forester even if his moor burning should, unhappily, get out of hand and cause damage to a State forest need have no fear that any action for damages will be taken against him by the State. Failure to follow the rules can, however, involve fines and heavy damage claims.
