Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2022
1925. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 220 of 26 January 2022, if he will provide a copy of each of the weekly tables of active harvesting sites provided to his Department by Coillte in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20825/22]
View answerThe Department Inspectors carry out harvesting, post harvesting and reforestation inspections. With regard to harvesting and post harvesting inspections the focus is primarily on water quality related issues that may be caused by breaches of the licence resulting mainly by machine traffic when harvesting and extracting timber from the site.
In relation to Coillte sites, harvesting site inspections have started in relation to the 2022 programme of inspections. In support of this work, Coillte now submit to the Department a weekly table of active harvesting sites from which the Department select a sample of forest areas to visit, either during or after harvesting has taken place.
In the interest of commercial sensitivity of this information and specifically the security of valuable machinery and logs on harvesting sites I do not believe it is appropriate to publish the active list of Coillte’s harvesting sites. I understand there have been many instances of log theft, diesel theft, machinery damage and parts stolen from active harvesting sites.
