Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I realise that the issue she is trying to deal with is very large and very complex in so many ways. Before her arrival Coillte gave a presentation which stated that it needs 2.3 million cu. m of forestry to go through the appeals process in the next seven weeks. Coillte says it has only 16% of what is required. It did not have its usual auction in October. The industry is in crisis because it does not have the ability to plan ahead. Is the Minister of State confident that the appeals process can deliver 2.3 million cu. m of forestry in the next seven weeks? If not, what does she think the plan B will be going forward? If there is a plan B, what will that mean for the industry and how will it affect the people working in sawmills, the people cutting and drawing the timber and the end user? I often say one cannot get a six-by-three to build a shed in west Cork today. It just does not exist. Four different shipments of timber are coming in from Scotland into Passage West to keep a sawmill in west Cork going. That is not sustainable. How can we ensure we have a credible industry with the current number of licences and the level of cutting?

Would the Minister of State be open to the suggestion that there be a monthly update from her office to this committee? I notice she has given the dashboard in the past four weeks, which has been in some way helpful, but more detail is required. In fairness to Mr. Hayes, he mentioned that even if one gets a licence, it could be cut over a period of time. We need more information to get a real, fact-based understanding of where the timber is, how much timber is in the system and how much timber is licensed and not cut. Issues such as those need to be looked at. The primary issue is the statement given by Coillte. That was a really significant figure. Do we have the capabilities in the next seven weeks to produce that? If not, how will the industry survive next year?