asked the Minister for Lands if he will state the amount of the receipts from sales of timber at forest centres, and the comparative cost of extraction of such timber during 1954-55 and 1955-56.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Timber Sales at Forest Centres.
The total receipts from sales of timber in State forests (as distinct from sawmills) were £143,604 in 1954-55 and £179,170 in 1955-56; the latter figure is provisional.
Records of expenditure on the felling and extraction of timber in any particular year are not segregated so as to show the expenditure on timber sold to the public separately from the cost of timber supplied to the Department's sawmills or otherwise applied to departmental requirements, e.g. fencing stakes, bridge construction or toolhouses. No useful purpose would be served by such separate figures. It would not be possible to use the figures in conjunction with figures of annual receipts from sales as felling and extraction of any particular lot of timber may not be completed in a single year or, alternatively, sale may not be brought to completion within the same year. Furthermore, some sales are arranged on the basis of instalment payments, stated proportions of the purchase price being payable according as removal of the material proceeds.
May I inquire whether the Minister is satisfied that the price realised is sufficient to cover the expenses of labour in connection with the extraction?
Lack of a sufficiently pleasing gap between the cost of extraction and sales is engaging my attention at the present time. I believe that, in the matter of sales, there can be improvement and, in the matter of costs of extraction, there can be economy. I am engaged on both of these aspects at the moment.