asked the Minister for Lands what progress has been made towards the acquisition of land for reafforestation purposes in the Milford-Ramelton district, County Donegal.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Donegal Reafforestation.
Four areas totalling 260 acres have been acquired in the Milford-Ramelton-Rathmullan area as the nucleus of a new forest centre. Over 2,000 acres in these districts have been inspected and valued for forestry purposes and I am hopeful of building up a very substantial centre there.
Could the Minister, offhand, give any indication of the minimum requirements for an economic centre in any area, including this one?
The nucleus of a centre may be as low as 80 or 100 acres or even less if there were any prospects of establishing a decent centre in the district. The ultimate hope of a compact forest block in any particular area would be in the region of 2,500 to 3,000 acres.
What radius would that take in?
That would depend on the quality of the land. It might not be possible to get all that in one block, but it might be possible to get two or three or four blocks so located as to be conveniently administered.
Then some men would have so go four, five or six miles?
In cases, yes.