asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry the efforts he is making to promote the use of native Irish timber; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna: Questions. Oral Answers. - Use of Native Timber.
15.
The efforts being made to promote the use of Irish timber include:—
—An on-going research programme, undertaken by the IIRS and funded by my Department, into various aspects of timber technology;
—a variety of courses and seminars organised by the IIRS with my Department's support and encouragement aimed at improving the grading and handling of Irish timber in the interests of higher production standards;
—the steps being taken by the Department of the Environment, which has overall responsibility for import substitution in the context of building materials, to increase the use of Irish timber in local authority construction projects.
The overall objective is to bring about a greater awareness and acceptance of Irish timber in the market place and, judging by the increasing pressure on my Department for supplies of raw material, I am glad to say that the promotional efforts in train are proving very effective.
The Minister is aware that wood production is estimated to double within the next ten years and probably increase substantially after that. Is the Minister satisfied that all reasonable effort is being made and will continue to be undertaken to ensure that the maximum benefit is derived from that wood production? Is he also satisfied that the number of people employed in forestry and associated industries can be significantly increased from their present 6,000 to 10,000 up to 30,000 to 50,000 over the next 15 years? Is he satisfied that with the existing policy these results can be obtained?
The Deputy must be aware that any Minister in a Department where a development like this is taking place must at all times be ready to review the current operation, and that is ongoing, especially in the context of our knowledge of what will happen over the next ten years. I point out, for the benefit of the House, that our current production is approximately 1 million cubic metres per annum which by 1990 will be 1.7 million cubic metres and by the end of this century 3.3 million cubic metres. Operations are in train and the current position is kept under review to take account of that expanding volume of timber which will be coming on stream.
The Minister has already said here today that decisions have been taken and implemented which will determine the size of our timber products for the next ten to 20 years. Is the Minister satisfied with the whole management of forestry and that the proper decisions have been taken by the management in this area? There is also this inventory which was promised so long ago.
I am quite satisfied with the handling of the current position by my staff in the forests. The Deputy implies that there is something wrong somewhere.
I am not saying that.
The reason that there may seem to be something wrong is that the demand far outstrips supply of timatio ber, of its very nature, depends on nature and we cannot push that too far.
I can understand how the supply cannot meet the demand at present, but at the same time the Minister says that we have not been able to sell the available timber.
We have been able to.
The Minister has not.
We have now.
Arising from the Minister's reference to pressure for supplies, would he not agree that the system of inviting tenders from processors, sawmill owners and so on is primitive, antiquated and totally unsatisfactory?
I am surprised at the Deputy. Whether he knows it or not, he is quoting a certain gentleman in this country who made an attack on the Department a few weeks back.
I do not know anything at all about that.
He is speaking very much on the same lines.
I am speaking from my experience of the tendering business. It is a rot.
The Deputy must know that we are talking here about a State asset and its disposal. Traditional regulations in relation to the disposal by the State of its assets have long been laid down and they cover all Departments. Until such time as that is changed by Government decision, this approach must be complied with. Indeed, we have taken steps to improve, hopefully, the tendering system somewhat in that also, side by side with tendering, we will have a quota system which guarantees supplies.
It is too slow.
This is based on the preceding year's consumption. Before the Deputy came into the Chamber I indicated that at the moment an inter-departmental committee, which I established a few months ago, is about to report. They specifically zoned in on this problem of marketing and on how we can speed up the supply of timber and arrange for processors to take a more long-term approach to the processing end of the business. That report will be available to me shortly and I would hope it would improve matters.
Deputy Wilson has raised the question of tendering. Is the Minister saying that because that system has been there for 60 years or so it cannot be changed? Has the Minister any ideas on any system different from the tendering system which would allow, as Deputy Molony mentioned, private interests to get the type of supply they want?
I have just said for the second time and I will now say for the third time that I am pointing to a system which has been in situ down through the years. I am not averse to changing that system for the better and, to that end, an inter-departmental committee will be reporting to me in a matter of weeks. Obviously I have not seen the report yet, but I hope it will suggest something which will be an improvement on the present system.
Is the Minister aware of the difficulty in the way the system operates? Is it not important that the price of timber here should be index-linked to the international timber price so that timber prices here can compete favourably with international timber prices? It is cheaper to import timber and, unless we can index-link our prices with international prices, that will continue to be the case.
I am sure the Deputy is aware of the difficulties in index-linked pricing especially in relation to timber. The theory of index-linking would be fine if the same level of inflation and production costs applied across the board. As the Deputy is aware, that is not the case, and thereby hangs the difficulty in the index-linking approach. That is the problem.
The remaining questions will appear on next week's Order Paper.