I move:—
Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £43,008 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1932, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí i dtaobh Foraoiseachta. (9 agus 10 Geo. 5, c. 58; Uimh. 16 de 1924 agus Uimh. 4 de 1928).
That a sum not exceeding £43,008 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1932, for salaries and expenses in connection with Forestry. (9 and 10 Geo. 5, c. 58; No. 16 of 1924; and No. 34 of 1928).
The net total of the Vote proposed is £64,588, being a net increase as compared with the Vote for 1930-'31 of £4,619. The printed Estimate to a large extent explains itself. The principal increases are £3,000 in the money set aside for the acquisition of land, and £2,300 in the money to be spent on the employment of labour.
Sub-head A—Salaries, wages and allowances, £9,598. —This head provides for the administrative, inspectorial and clerical staffs which remain the same as last year.
Sub-head B—Travelling expenses, £1,000. —This item provides for travelling and subsistence expenses of inspectorial and technical staffs and shows a reduction of £200 on the previous year.
Sub-head C 1—Acquisition of land (Grant-in-Aid), £13,000. —The provision under this head is by way of grant-in-aid in order that unexpended balances may be carried forward. This arrangement has been found to be necessary owing to the difficulty of forecasting the length of time which may be required in any particular case for negotiation and conveyance. During the year 1930-31, 1,810¼ acres were acquired by purchase and 220¼ acres were leased, making a total of 46,285 acres acquired for State afforestation up to the 31st March last. Negotiations are in progress in regard to approximately 12,000 acres.
Sub-head C 2—Cultural operations, maintenance, etc., £45,800. —(1) Foresters' and caretakers' wages, £4,500. —Additions to the number of forest centres necessarily entails a more or less progressive increase in this item. Foresters are classified into three grades, varying with the experience and seniority of the individual concerned and the importance of the centre under his charge.
The grades are:—
Forester Grade I. —Wages, inclusive £180—£7 10s.—£230. Forester Grade II. — £130 — £5 — £180. Foremen — £120. These men are, in addition, entitled to free housing accommodation or a small allowance in lieu where houses are not available. At present there are employed 6 Grade I foresters, 16 Grade II foresters and 7 foremen.
All these men have been trained for their work by the Department.
Caretakers are usually employed at outlying portions of forest properties, and are given small allowances, varying with the importance of their charges. The number at present employed is 24.
(2) Maintenance, £10,800. —This item includes a sum of £6,300 for payment of labour required for cleaning and after care of areas already planted. The sum of £4,500 will be expended mainly on fencing materials (wire netting, stakes, staples, etc.) and tools. These stores are obtained through the agencies of the central purchasing departments.
(3) Cultural Operations, £29,000; Labour, £26,000. —This item covers the wages of workmen required for nursery work, the preparation of ground for planting, and for the actual planting operations. Labour is employed as required, reaching peak figures in the winter months. The total number of labourers at present engaged is 520, and this complement will probably rise to 700 men in the coming planting season. Labourers are engaged through the local labour exchanges at wages corresponding to the local rates for agricultural workers.
Purchase of Seeds, Seedlings and Transplants, £2,000. —Seeds are purchased principally from abroad. The quantity sown in 1930 was 725 lb., which, it is estimated, will produce approximately 11 million seedlings for lining-out in nurseries.
There are 106 acres of land in use as nursery ground. The total area of forest land planted or replanted in the season 1930-31 was 3,290 acres. The programme for the current financial year contemplates the planting of from three to four thousand acres.
Miscellaneous, £1,000. —This item includes various charges such as manures, cartage and nursery ploughing.
(4) Timber Conversion, £1,500. —One sawmill only is at present in operation, viz., at Dundrum, County Tipperary, but steps are being taken to commence operations with a small mill on the Department's forest centre at Coolbanagher, near Portarlington. There is a steadily maintained sale of manufactured and partly manufactured timber from the mill at Dundrum. During the year ended 31st March last approximately 21,160 cubic feet of timber were sold at Dundrum, and in addition a large amount of sawing was done for local timber owners.
Sub-head C 3 deals with experiments in planting of peat land, and the amount is £500. These experiments are to be carried out over a period of ten years or so on peat soils of the type occurring in the West of Ireland, in order to ascertain the possibility of land of this sort being planted economically.
Sub-head D refers to advances for afforestation purposes, £350. It provides for assistance by way of grants to local bodies and private persons undertaking forestry operations. A scheme of grants for planting was put into operation during the past season under which assistance to the extent of £4 an acre may be given towards the cost of establishing plantations. The grant is payable in three instalments, and is limited to plantations of 5 statute acres and upwards, planted either by one holder or by two or more occupiers jointly. During the past season 26 applications were received covering a total proposed area of 280 acres. Tree nursery schemes, having for their object the supply of good plants for planting by private persons, are being worked by the councils of Counties Cork and Kildare.
Under Sub-head E. — Forestry Education—a sum of £250 is estimated. This item provides for (a) the training of apprentices with a view to supplying the need for skilled forest foremen and foresters, and (b) special intensive courses of lectures, etc., for junior foresters and foremen in the Department's service. There are at present in training five apprentices in their first year, six in their second year, and four in their third year of training.
Sub-head F. —Agency and advisory services and special services. —£10—is a token vote merely.
Sub-head G covers incidental expenses. —£130.
The total area of land acquired by the Department for forestry purposes up to the end of March last is 46,285 acres. Of this total 33,087 acres were purchased, 9,384 acres were leased, and 3,814 acres were transferred free of charge from the Department of Defence. The total area planted or replanted to date is 26,649 acres, of which 3,290 acres were planted in the past season. Of the leased lands 1,606 acres have not yet been taken over. For the purposes of administration the forest lands are divided into 37 forest units, each of which is in charge of a local officer.
A few words may be useful regarding the working of the Forestry Act, 1928, which came into operation on April 1st, 1930. As is fairly well known, general permits are issued to owners of woodlands who are prepared to maintain them in a satisfactory condition. The Department make no attempt to interfere with the owners' views on the subject, but recipients of permits are expected to do what is necessary to preserve the general wooded features of their estates, and although planting or replanting is desirable, no hard and fast rules are laid down in this connection. From time to time cases arise in which it is obviously necessary to take existing conditions into account, and no attempt is made to administer the Act in an arbitrary or unreasonable manner.
As regards the notification of tree fellings on holdings to which general permits could not apply, the principle adopted is to prohibit, in the first instance, cases in which the felling appears to be relatively excessive. This is necessary in order that inspections may be made later than the specified statutory period of twenty-one days. Licences to fell are usually granted as a result of these inspections, which take into consideration the condition of the individual holdings. As is well known, the limitation of prohibition provided by the Act is fairly wide, and covers all the more urgent cases in which tree felling is necessary. Offences against the Act are dealt with after a careful review of the facts supplied by the Civic Guard, and if offenders have clearly acted in ignorance of the Act, or satisfactory reasons can be given for the absence of notification, the cases are usually settled by the issue of warning notices. On the other hand, deliberate attempts to evade the Act must be dealt with in accordance with the law.