Mr. Colum Walsh:

If, as set out in our second point, we were to allow the forest owners to enter into a new scheme over 15 years of forest premiums - this relates to Deputy Fitzmaurice's question - there would be a financial loss to owners. Some owners might have taken up the reconstitution scheme having had 20 years of growth and received no compensation for the loss of growth with respect to the volume of timber. The timber is not suitable for hurley butts, as it is stained and withering. It is suitable for firewood, which varies from €20 to €60 per cubic metre at the roadside. If such compensation provision was to revert to allowing a forest owner to enter into a new 15-year scheme of forest premiums, the figures I have vary from €440 per hectare per year for planting Sitka spruce up to €665 per hectare per year for 15 years. At the higher scale for the 20,000 ha involved that would cost the State €13,300,000 per year for 15 years, a grand total after 15 years of €200,000.