asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry the number of poles imported by the ESB and the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in 1981; and the reason for importing poles as adequate supplies of douglas fir and larch poles are available from our forests.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Pole Imports.
13.
The statistics requested are not complied by my Department. However, I understand that the approximate number of poles imported by the ESB and the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in 1981 was 16,000 and 139,000, respectively.
Maximum possible use is being made of non-spruce species of timber, such as douglas fit and larch, for transmission poles, but supplies from Irish forests are not adequate for the needs of the two bodies concerned. All available supplies of non-spruce species are provided for them annually but the balance of their requirements has to be met by imports.
Studies aimed at determining possibilities for import substitution through the use of spruce poles by the bodies concerned are continuing.
Can the Minister tell us the total number of poles used by the ESB and the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, the percentage that are imported and the percentage home grown? Are they half and half or 75 per cent and 25 per cent?
I do not have that information.
It is surprising that that information is not given.
What steps are being taken to eliminate inadequacies in the Minister's Department in the years ahead as far as supplies of poles and so on are concerned?
Research is being carried out at present to see if spruce timber can be made suitable for use as transmission poles. This is providing satisfactory and will mean that spruce trees will be available for transmission poles.
The Minister stated that in 1980 some 80,000 poles were imported and that in 1981, 139,000 poles were imported. Can he give any reason for this large increase? Was it due to insufficiency in home production?
No, it was not due to insufficiency but to the increased number of poles required by the different bodies. We supply two-thirds of the poles for the ESB and about one-third for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs.