Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I wish to follow up on the last few questions. The witnesses are claiming a record number of trees being planted, with an increase of 30%. A figure was quoted in regard to how much of that is new forestry, but the figures for afforestation nationally are very poor. They are well below the set targets. A witness mentioned a figure of 14% that is being discussed with the Government and how Coillte will contribute to that 14%. I thought the target was 17%. Are we rolling back now from 17%, which in itself, as the witness pointed out, is about half of the average across Europe? Are we rolling back on targets yet again? What is Coillte contributing to the current level of afforestation, which we know is well below what it should be? I think there are about 6,000 to 7,000 ha of afforestation currently. How much of that is Coillte actually contributing?

I am extremely interested in the non-productive land the witnesses refer to. A figure of 100,000 ha has been mentioned. I actually do not know how to convert acres into hectares.