asked the Minister for Lands if he will state (a) the location and area in acres of lands acquired to date by his Department for the purposes of afforestation in North Kerry or, if separate constituency records are not available, for the entire county, (b) the total acreage planted to date, and (c) the acreage and location of lands proposed to be planted this year, and how soon work will commence.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Afforestation in North Kerry.
The total area held by the Forestry Division of my Department in North Kerry is 1,621 acres, of which a total of 1,094 acres is classified as productive. The total area planted to date is 612 acres. All the lands held in North Kerry are attached to Brosna Forest, apart from an area of 610 acres recently acquired in the Dingle peninsula which has been attached to Killorglin Forest.
The planting programme for next year has not been settled and, consequently, I am not yet in a position to reply to the third part of the Deputy's question.