In March 2009 the Government announced a moratorium on promotion and recruitment in the civil service. Under the terms of the moratorium, no posts can be filled without the prior sanction of the Minister for Finance. Accordingly, sanction has been requested from the Department of Finance to recruit officers on a temporary basis to undertake the national forest inventory. Discussions are ongoing with the Department of Finance in this regard.
For the purpose of the Kyoto Protocol Irish forests will sequester 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (Mt CO2) over the 5-year period to the end of 2012. This amount is 25% of the emission reductions arising from existing measures outlined in the National Climate Change Strategy. The cost saving in carbon purchases in today’s terms is €220 million. The reporting and accounting of forests as carbon sinks under the Kyoto Protocol agreements are subject to rigorous reporting procedures which must conform to the good practice guidelines (GPG) of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). While failure to comply with the IPCC GPG guidance would result in revision and re-adjustment of the claimed emission reductions and a loss of revenue, I am confident that the National Forest Inventory will be completed by the end of 2012.
