asked the Minister for Lands whether he has taken steps to acquire or place orders for drainage, soil preparation and planting machinery required by the forestry division; and, if so, if he will state the nature and value of the machinery so purchased or ordered.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Afforestation Machinery.
While no orders have yet been placed, investigations are almost completed as to the types of drainage and subsoiling ploughs, and tractors, most suitable for use in this country. Such machinery is an absolute necessity for the carrying out of the forestry programme.
The purchase of planting machinery is not being considered. As far as I can gather, such machinery is a recent innovation in the United States, and it is very doubtful if mechanical planting could be successfully employed on the type of ground which is available for planting here. In this connection I might add that the fencing, clearing, levelling and pre-planting preparation absorb the most time and labour. The actual planting is an easy job by comparison and I do not propose to purchase machinery for this latter type of work.
Would the Minister give an assurance to the House that he will have this suitable machinery available for the carrying out of the planting of 25,000 acres, starting in 1952, which he envisages? Can we have an assurance that lack of this necessary machinery will not be used as an excuse for not carrying out this afforestation programme?
There is an implication in the latter part of the Deputy's supplementary——
Which does not taste too well.
May I put it this way: can we have an assurance that he will have this machinery available for carrying out this planting programme by 1952?
I hope to.
Further, has he investigated whether this new machinery now being used in America for planting would be of benefit here, and whether it could be used successfully here in connection with the programme of the planting of 25,000 and more acres per year which we envisage?
Let me clear up the position with regard to the two types of machinery. It is absolutely essential to get machinery for drainage and certain types of soil preparation before planting, but the actual work of planting the trees by mechanical means has only recently been started in the United States. I do not know what success it has had, because it will take time to prove whether that type of planting is successful or not. On account of the rocky nature of a good deal of the ground we are forced to plant here, I do not think it would be feasible. From the little I know about it at the moment, I think that type of machinery is used on huge level stretches of what we would describe as arable land.
Does the Minister not envisage the planting of land other than rocky land?