asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he is satisfied that there is sufficient native timber available to supply the demands of the Irish timber industry.
29.
Written Answers. - Native Timber Supply.
28.
asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he is aware of claims that the Irish sawmilling industry is currently working at about 50 per cent capacity because of the non-availability of raw materials; and whether, given the fact that the State operates a virtual monopoly on the supply of raw timber for milling, he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 29 together.
According to the sawmill industry's own assessment of its sawing capacity its sawlog requirements are about 40-50 per cent greater than total national supplies. Much of the excess capacity has been unavoidably generated through necessary re-equipment of mills in recent years. In qualifying for grant aid for such re-equipping projects the industry accepted that it could not expect to operate at the resultant increased capacity until such time — understood to be around the end of this decade — as there would be a balance between timber supply and demand. I might add that the situation is exacerbated by some firms seeking to operate beyond the one shift basis which the majority of the mills regard as their most realistic expectation under present conditions.
30.
asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry whether he is aware of claims by the Irish Timber Council that an IDA report produced in 1981 which foresaw a very rapid expansion of the native timber industry based on sizeable increase in raw material supply was based on inaccurate or misleading information from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
31.
asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he is aware of a claim made by the Irish Timber Council that the IDA was supplied with inaccurate information from his Department overestimating the likely supplies to the industry of raw material; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 31 together.
I understand that a claim along these lines was made recently. However, as the information supplied by my Department in the context of the report referred to was based on the must up-to-date inventory of State forests available at the time I do not accept that such allegations are justified. I should add that a forest inventory is basically a prediction of maximum annual production and its practical application is inevitably governed by a variety of management constraints and other factors.