Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Moloney for his presentation. I join other speakers in wishing him well in his tenure as chairperson of Coillte.

It seems to me that Coillte, as the largest producer of biomass in the country - it is way ahead of every other producer - has been very slow to develop this sector. A project that is ongoing in England involves the conversion of the largest coal-fired power station in Europe so that it will run solely on biomass. Apparently, the potential could exist to do the same thing here in the case of Moneypoint. It seems to me that Coillte is well placed to be the lead agency in looking at how that can be developed for the future. I read somewhere in recent years that enough offcuts are available from the felling of trees - forestry waste material - to heat every house in the country regardless of the availability of more valuable products. What does Mr. Moloney intend that Coillte will do over the next couple of years to see how this can be developed? I understand that North American producers are currently exporting huge volumes of wood chips and pellets into Europe. I suggest that Coillte should engage in a strategic examination of this possibility. This work needs to be started very quickly because technology is developing to allow coal-fired stations to be converted. It seems to me that this is an obvious way for Coillte to go.

I note that Mr. Moloney is a director of Smurfit Kappa. I do not know whether that company sources any raw material in Ireland. I imagine that Coillte could be a potential customer. I wonder whether there is any potential for conflict in that respect.