Mr. Jim McNamara:

As Pat Glennon outlined, the IFFPA is totally opposed to the proposed merger of Coillte and Bord na Móna. The major reason for our opposition is that there is insufficient raw material available to satisfy demand. Coillte has proposed expanding its plant in Waterford, which would require an additional 300,000 tonnes of material, while Bord na Móna has ambitions to burn 1 million tonnes of biomass. From where will this combined total of 1.3 million tonnes of material suddenly appear?

As Paddy Murray stated, Coillte has taken into the two plants material that should be supplied to the sawmills for which not enough pulped material is available. This shortage is likely to continue for ten or 15 years. The private forestry sector will help but growth will be limited and the sector will certainly not be able to provide 1.3 million tonnes of material immediately. If the merger proceeds, the amount of material supplied to the sawmills will continue to decline.

Transparency is required because there is no transparency on price. We do not know what price is being paid for the pulp Coillte is supplying.

Deputies Boyd Barrett and Penrose referred to achieving only 45% of the afforestation target of planting 14,000 ha per annum. I am not sure if members realise that Coillte has not planted any new land in the past ten or 15 years. Private landowners have done very well in this regard but where is Coillte in all of this? It should be a forestry company purchasing and acquiring new land and then planting it.