Dr. Eugene Hendrick:

It is still a large employer for the area. It is making a good contribution to the county. County Wicklow, for example, has probably even a higher level of forest cover than County Leitrim. There is a very vibrant forest industry down there. Going through Wicklow, one will see many small sawmills, people making garden sheds and all kinds of different industry, including sawn wood, sawlog and other structural material. There is a lot of employment potential in afforestation, as I mentioned the previous day, not only in planting, but also in forest maintenance and then thinning. We are encouraging owners to get into their forests as early as possible to take out thinnings. It makes a lot of sense for the State to invest to mobilise this material because it will improve the profitability of the plantation for the owner. This is a very important point. A lot of work is going into the sector to develop local heat markets, which are very important.

Another point I would make is that it is not in any way mandatory for anyone to afforest; it is a totally voluntary scheme. Attractive grants and premiums are available to do it, but there is no stipulation that any landowner must plant all of his or her land. The potential is there for landowners to plant part of their land and maintain part of their holding in agriculture, so there can be a mixed model. The threshold for afforestation is quite low in terms of the area that needs to be planted in order to get grant aid. It is less than a hectare of forest.

There are many positives about forestry, including the potential employment, the potential rural jobs that will flow out of it downstream. The proof of the pudding is in the eating when one considers the example of Wicklow and other counties, where there has been a forestry sector for quite some time. This will happen in Leitrim as well because many areas in Leitrim have been planted for quite some time. Leitrim's wood is coming to market. Deputy Kenny will see timber lorries passing by his front door very soon. I would be very surprised if they are not already passing by.