Mr. Colm Hayes:

A felling licence can have a duration of up to ten years, the purpose of which is to give maximum flexibility to the licence holder. It is not like bringing cattle to the factory because the trees will still be standing. There is a desire, I am sure, to make the best use of the price when the licence is obtained, so a holder might decide to hold off for six months, a year or two years. What we issue in the dashboard are the output figures for the Department in respect of licensing. We do not make any predictions regarding when that timber will be harvested. It is very likely that the timber for which we issue licences this year may not be harvested for three or four years.