Mr. David Gunning:

I will try to deal as comprehensively as I can in my response with the comprehensive set of questions asked.

I will begin with the issue of exports. The export story is a great tribute to the resilience of our customers, the sawmills, and to their entrepreneurial spirit. They have gone out and put sales teams in place in the UK and managed to land business and displace others. Ours has been a whole-industry approach, yet we have maintained the competitive nature of what we do. We have been significantly supported by Enterprise Ireland in everything we have done. The week before last we had a large presence at the timber expo in Birmingham. We will continue to do these things in order to build the brand for Irish timber, for Coillte's products and for Ireland in general in this fantastic product. Some 20 years ago, sawmills had not invested in modern technology. Now Irish sawmills are among the most modern in the world and this is the reason we can be competitive on an international basis. Investment in sawing and kiln technology provides modern, high-quality products and is a great attestation to the spirit and resilience of sawmill owners and the investments they have made.

We have employment in the industry from seed to sawdust, right from the plantation of the forest through to the processing of sawdust or whatever into pellets, MDF or particle board. There are 12,000 people employed, which is a significant number. Long may that continue. We cannot stop now. We must continue to invest. We must develop new innovative products and keep developing new market opportunities and filling the needs people do not even know they have. Much of our product goes next door to the UK. The United Kingdom now leads Europe in terms of zero carbon homes, but to build such homes it needs more timber. We are ideally positioned to fill that need.

On the issue of rural recreation, there is no monetary return. However, this is one of Coillte's core values. We see connecting people with nature as part of what we do. We are a commercial body, but we have other responsibilities under that umbrella. We know, for example, the United Kingdom forestry commission gets £1 for every individual visit to its lands and there is a significant transfer of funds from the UK Treasury to the forestry commission in order to provide services. This happens also in other countries throughout Europe with state forestry companies. We are not on another planet and are very attuned to the current realities. We are getting on with providing facilities, with great co-operation from local authorities. A great example of this is the Dublin mountains partnership between Coillte, Dublin City Council, South Dublin County Council, Fingal County Council, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and other landowners in the Dublin mountains. These all work closely together to provide an excellent recreation service on the doorstep of the nation's capital.

This is a model for other initiatives we have under way. Mention was made of north Mayo and the possible wilderness area in the early stage of development. We are also working with Cavan County Council on a forest site near the Marble Arch caves which are north of the Border. This will attract additional funding, possibly even EU funding. Lough Key forest park is another great example. We have a fantastic site there on the edge of the lake with some wonderful resources. Perhaps we could invite the committee to pay a visit to our zip wire attractions there. The Chairman can bring members up and we would be happy to provide training and harnesses, at least for some of them.

Rural recreation is important. This leads us to the issue of the public good, which does not just concern people walking in the forest. Coillte provides significant biodiversity. Some 15% of our land is protected for nature conservation, a value in itself. There is also a landscape value. We are moving away from harsh landscapes with straight edges on forests. Members will notice over time that as we replant our forests, there will be much softer edges and the forests will sit better in their natural environment. This is how it should be and is how the industry is evolving. We are very conscious of these responsibilities.

The nation's challenge with regard to wind farms and renewable energy is significant. We are doing whatever we can to support the achievement of the 2020 objectives, which are now required under an EU directive. We must ensure we get 40% of our power from renewable resources by 2020. I encourage all elements of government to work together to try to bring this about and not to put further obstacles in the way of achieving that target. There is a positive stimulus possibility that by proceeding aggressively with this programme, we can bring about positive outcomes.