Ms Bernie Gray:

We have a requirement to provide timber to the sector. In providing that timber if we make a return of more than 4%, as Ms Hurley has outlined, that gives us a pool of money available for reinvestment and increased afforestation. One way or another, irrespective of whether we have grants or premia, it costs money to increase our level of afforestation, in particular where we do not have land. If we do not make a return, which we can then reinvest, the State has to pay for it. As the protector of the State's asset, we are trying to balance our commercial return with the need to reinvest that return in areas which will meet the State's national policy objectives. What would make our life easier would be a national land use policy and a national forestry strategy such as Scotland had when it determined that it was prioritising forestry.