asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism if it is intended to provide a wood processing industry in the Sligo Leitrim area and if he will make a statement on the matter in view of the large amount of timber exports and the state of maturity of the forests in this area.
Written Answers. - Wood Processing Industry.
46.
My Department, the Department of Fisheries and Forestry and the Industrial Development Authority have been examining ways in which the best economic benefits can be obtained from the increasingly available supplies of timber arising in our forests.
The north-west region has been identified as an area offering stategic advantages to a pulpwood-processing project and the IDA has been attempting to attract such a project to Ireland in order to exploit this natural resource. However, some pulpwood industries require greater volumes of raw material than are likely to be available and this represents a limiting factor.
The choice of location for any industry setting up in Ireland is, of course, a matter for the promoters of the project but the Deputy can be assured that the advantages of Sligo-Leitrim as a location for an additional timber-processing plant are being brought to the attention of the promoters of any proposals which arise.