Mr. Simon White:

To follow up on what Mr. O'Connell said, as far as I understand it, a great deal of the planting was done by private companies, which one employed. They got the grant for the plantations. The trees were not available in this country. Nurseries were not growing them, and they were not encouraged to grow them. Therefore, the private companies, through the forest service, had to get a licence to import those plants from other countries which planted a large amount of ash, such as France and the like. However, it was known that the disease was prevalent in Europe at the time. I contend that there was a responsibility on them for phyto security and to have checked out those plants. Most of the plants came in under licence, which should never have been granted. It was a disease that could have been kept out of the country. It has now invaded our native ash, which has destroyed a huge asset of this country. We and everybody else are the ones paying the price.

Deputy Martin Browne was concerned about the cost of taking plantations out. It costs approximately €3,000 or €4,000 per acre - that is €10,000 per ha - to take the roots out of an ash plantation. That is to clear the ground and get the roots out of a 20-year plantation. That is a great deal of money for an individual to pay to get back to square one. Then one must replant and start from scratch again. One is replanting with a different species, if one wishes to do so. Most of the people who planted broadleafs do not wish to put in Sitka or the like. They do not want to have no option.

One of the members asked about the uptake.