Mr. Mike Quinn:

In respect of forestry, that mobilisation is done under the auspices of BioEnergy Ireland, which was Government policy last year. Coillte is working very closely with us on that. We believe BioEnergy Ireland will become a source of biomass for Ireland Inc., not just Bord na Móna and Coillte. Most of the projects in the private sector that are failing to get financing are not getting it because they cannot guarantee the fuel stock. What Bord na Móna and Coillte will provide through BioEnergy Ireland is a platform for indigenous biomass to sell to BioEnergy Ireland and for projects that need fuel stock to come to BioEnergy Ireland. If they need a ten-year fuel contract, because of the scale and our international supply chain, we should be in a position to provide that guaranteed supply of ten-year feedstock. We believe that will support the renewable heat incentive that the Government is working on. If that lands in a medium-scale CHP-type scenario, we would be able to provide the fuel stock for that.

Most of these projects do not get off the ground today because they cannot get the feedstock, and that is a major problem. We believe this project not only will create the jobs but will kick-start an entire industry in Ireland around biomass.