Vol. 489 No. 3
28 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources his views on whether a conflict of interest arises in relation to his role in protecting our fresh water fisheries and the forestry programme in view of scientific evidence available. [7919/98]
34 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources his views on whether a conflict of interest arises in relation to his role in protecting our fresh water fisheries and the forestry programme in view of scientific evidence available. [7921/98]
37 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources his views on whether a conflict of interest arises in relation to his role in protecting our fresh water fisheries and the forestry programme in view of scientific evidence available. [7918/98]
45 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources his views on whether a conflict of interest arises in relation to his role in protecting our fresh water fisheries and the forestry programme in view of scientific evidence available. [7920/98]
50 Mr. Belton asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to scientific evidence which raises serious questions in relation to planting ever-greens in close proximity to our streams. [8042/98]
51 Mr. Belton asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the correlation, if any, between unplanned forestry and the decline of trout and salmon stocks in rivers and lakes within the catchment area of the development area. [8044/98]
54 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources his views on whether a conflict of interest arises in relation to his role in protecting our fresh water fisheries and the forestry programme in view of scientific evidence available. [7917/98]
I will take Questions Nos. 28, 34, 37, 45, 50, 51 and 54 together.
I am fully satisfied that there is no conflict of interest in relation to my role in protecting fresh water fisheries and the current afforestation programme.
Compatibility of forestry development with the environment is the essential element of the Government's afforestation programme and is a basic principle of grant aid. As virtually all forest planting in Ireland is subject to grant aid, the controls operated by the Forest Service of my Department ensure that environmental concerns, particularly in respect of water quality, are fully taken into account.
The current forestry and fisheries guidelines specifically prohibit the planting of conifers in close proximity to rivers, lakes or streams and this applies even in non-sensitive areas where the soils are well buffered. There is no evidence to suggest that the decline in trout and salmon stocks is in any way attributed to forestry. Indeed, the forestry impacts adjacent to our lakes and rivers are insignificant compared to agricultural and industrial effluents.
The recent Aquafor report published last year highlighted the interactions between plantation forestry and aquatic ecology, some of which were negative, particularly in some of the most acid sensitive regions in the country. However, the study concluded that it would be wrong to extrapolate from these areas to the whole country, or to conclude that forestry as a whole, has a net negative effect on aquatic ecology. The Aquafor study was carried out on forests which ware established long before the current guidelines on forestry and fisheries were introduced in 1992. These guidelines are currently being reviewed and will take cognisance of the findings of the Aquafor study.
