Vol. 368 No. 1
asked the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry the amount of land which is held unplanted by his Department at present; and the average length of time that land is kept in State ownership having been purchased before it is planted with trees.
69.
asked the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry the number of acres of land which have been purchased by his Department for afforestation more than three years ago which still have not been planted.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 69 together.
The area of unplanted land held by my Department on 31 December 1985, was 44,500 hectares. This includes a substantial area of land which for a variety of reasons (e.g. grazing-turbary rights, sale-exchange proceedings, wildlife conservation and nature reserves, amenity considerations) is not available for planting. Aside from these considerations, it is the normal practice of my Department to plant available land in the first planting season after its acquisition or as soon as possible thereafter. The period between completion of acquisition formalities and planting varies depending on the nature and location of the site or other special circumstances affecting it but on average the period is about one year.
70.
asked the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry if his Department has prepared projections for the planting programme over a number of future years; and whether a sufficient number of good quality plants will be available for the industry in this country.
The State planting programme as outlined in the Government's plan Building on Reality is aimed at achieving planting of the order of 7,500 hectares per annum. In addition my Department operates schemes of grants to encourage private planting.
The Department's seed sowing programme each year is based on the expected requirements of the State planting programme in the succeeding years and I am, therefore, satisfied that the plant supply situation will be adequate to meet the requirements of that programme.
Plants for private afforestation are normally provided by the private nursery trade and to this end the Forest and Wildlife Service sells seeds to the trade as well as plants surplus to the Department's own requirements.
71.
asked the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry the amount of young trees which have been imported into Ireland in the last season; and if his Department is taking any measures to ensure that trees will be available in Ireland for private land owners as well as for State afforestation.
A total of 2.1 million young trees were imported in the last planting season. The Department's seed sowing programme in any given year is based on the expected requirements of the State planting programme.
Plants for private afforestation are normally provided by the private nursery trade and to this end the Forest and wildlife Service sells seeds to the trade as well as plants surplus to the Department's own requirements.
72.
asked the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry whether in some State forests thinnings have been cut down and not been extracted.
It is not normal practice to leave thinnings in plantations.
In some instances, there can be delays in extraction because the timber merchant is awaiting the availability of suitable extraction machinery or improved weather conditions. Occassionally, timber merchants may leave in the forest small volumes of material which they regard as unsuitable. The Forest and Wildlife Service repossesses such material and makes suitable arrangements for its disposal where practicable.
73.
asked the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry if the State afforestation programme has slowed down in recent years; and, if so, whether the problem is one of the non-availability of national finance or whether he views afforestation as no longer being a viable investment.
The Government is fully committed to expanding the area under forestry by both the State and private interests. This commitment was confirmed by the Government in its economic plan Building on Reality where it was stated that investment in forestry in the years 1985 to 1987 would aim at the establishment of plantations at an annual average rate of some 7,500 hectares per annum to be augmented as much as possible by private planting. The necessary funds for afforestation both State and private are provided by the Government annually within the overall constraints on Exchequer resources.
74.
asked the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry if he agrees that there are many acres of land in Ireland which could usefully be devoted to afforestation through private and public investment without any risk whatever to vested interests of the agricultural industry; and, if so, whether he believes that some State forests might usefully be sold to raise money so that the State could bring developed land into useful production.
Studies by An Foras Talúntais identify 1 million hectares in low intensity agriculture which would be more productively used in forestry. It is estimated that of this at least 500,000 hectares are capable of achieving very high yields by Irish forestry standards (18 to 24 cm per hectare per annum) while another 500,000 hectares has high production potential by European standards (i.e. average yield of 16cm per hectare per annum).
The question of the disposal of State forests would be a matter for decision by the Government and there is no such proposal before either me or the Government at present. In this connection I would refer the Deputy to my statement to Seanad Éireann on 7 May 1986 on the matter.
