Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Will the witness comment on the proposed reconstitution and underplanting scheme, RUS, or does Coillte have any part to play in that?

In the past four weeks we have received information from a departmental dashboard on the licences issued and I note Coillte has received 180 licences. Will the witness confirm that this is all for commercial heavy cutting or are some for thinning? How many cubic metres of forestry is tied up in the appeals process?

I will be brief as many speakers wish to contribute. There are partnerships in which people are seeking to cut timber and it is disappointing that Coillte, instead of going the legal route, has not sat down with the people involved. It will end up that lawyers and barristers will get more from the process than anybody else. Why has Coillte not looked to resolve the matter? I believe applications must have a Natura impact statement but is this now being disputed?