Ms Bernie Gray:

I will make some opening remarks before handing over to my colleague, Mr. Carlin. Senator Daly asked about farm partnerships. Coillte conducts its business with openness and integrity. When representatives of Coillte were before the committee two years ago, they accepted that the way in which the administration of farm partnerships had operated needed to be improved because mistakes had been made. Every effort has been made in the interim to make those improvements and to increase communication. If there was any sense that such improvements were not visible to all the farm partners, we would be very concerned. We gave a commitment that every person would receive communication; that we would put additional resources in, which we did; that we would issue a commercial statement to each partner, which we did; and that we would assign a member of staff to farmers an individual basis so that they would know who they were dealing with and there would be a human face to their interface with Coillte. We would be concerned if that was not the experience. If there have been particular instances in which this has not been the experience, we want to hear about them because that is not the way Coillte likes to do its business.

A question was also asked about markets and supply. The strategic review, which we have mentioned, involves ascertaining the extent to which Coillte is in a position to supply timber to the sector in the knowledge that it is growing quite rapidly. We are looking at the net increase in afforestation and at the profile of our forests. We want to ensure the ageing of our forests and the harvesting of our trees are in line with the requirement to supply to the market. As part of our strategy, we will invest in mature forests to supplement years in which the profile of our forests might not meet demand. Overall, we are happy that we will be in a position to meet demand, even as the market expands.

We are very happy that the Bord na Móna initiative, which was mentioned by Deputy Corcoran Kennedy, has been concluded. The question of what will happen has been raised with us on a number of occasions.

Is it the best decision not to rewet? What is the best way and what species should we use for afforestation of cutaway bogs? We are taking the best ecological advice on that, as we do with our management of forests and harvesting policy. Mr. Carlin will provide further insights.