Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 21:

In page 9, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following:
"(p) to encourage and facilitate the development of a competitive timber industry and the creation of jobs in rural Ireland;
(q) to promote and facilitate the provision of a sufficient supply of sawlog at competitive prices to meet the requirements of the timber industry.".

Part of the objective of this Bill must be the development of a competitive timber industry and the creation of jobs in rural Ireland. Just as the whole ecological and tourism scenes are important, so too is the timber industry. The timber industry has been very resilient and over the past five years has shown its capacity to survive and maintain jobs. In the areas where the major timbers mills are located - Ballygar, Longford, Cork and where I live - it is unlikely that any industry of that scale would have set up in those locations. We have very sizeable mills and further development is possible, with high added value in small operations. The five or six large companies are important but there is huge potential with small companies. Germany is a good example of that.

There should be an objective to create a competitive timber industry and to create jobs. I mention the promotion of the production and use of timber but that is very generic because the timber which goes into the board mills which Coillte owns is timber but, of course, the timber mills need something much more specific. They need suitable saw log on a continuous basis. We need planning for that because it is not a question of ag cur san earrach agus ag baint sa bhfómhair- sowing in the spring and harvesting in the autumn. It takes many years to grow a tree to full maturity and, therefore, it is important one of the functions of the Minister should be to ensure there is a sufficient supply of saw log.

I cannot see any reason the Minister would not accept that these are two valid objectives which should be added to the Bill. Both amendments are basically saying the same thing.