asked the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry the steps he has taken to provide an adequate road system and modern machinery in State forests to facilitate forestry practices and extraction of timber.
Written Answers. - Development of State Forests.
73.
The provision of a suitable road system constitutes part of the ongoing forestry operations of the Forest and Wildlife Service of my Department. The programme involves firstly the provision of the necessary roading to facilitate the management of newly planted areas in their formative years, secondly the provision of access roads for harvesting and extraction of timber from plantations and thirdly maintaining and up-grading forest roads as required until all thinning cycles have been completed and the crops clearfelled. All roads are designed to carry the maximum load consistent with the conditions obtaining in the relevant sites.
There are now some 6,650km of roads developed within the State forest estate. This is increasing currently at an annual rate of about 140km, augmented by approximately 30km of up-graded roads.
My Department maintains a fleet of suitable modern machinery for road-making and for the harvesting of timber. This fleet is augmented as required by the hiring of suitable privately owned machinery.