Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have some questions about forestry and bioenergy. We had a willow scheme a number of years ago but it did not prove too successful and there were problems with it, as I understand it. We have a major need for biomass and we have had to import it. Edenderry power station is located in my constituency, in north County Offaly. If I drive across that countryside, I can see thousands of acres of marginal land that is partially used or unused. What is being done to try to meet this need?

On the one hand we have farmers farming marginal land, and many of them are former employees of Bord na Móna who are now redundant or employees who are soon to be made redundant. They and the farmers around them have land and unemployment rates are very high. The area has the lowest income per head of population in the State. There is a power station that is going to 100% biomass in a year's time but I am not sure where that biomass will come from. I am not sure anybody else knows that either. It is an issue.

What are we doing in trying to get a biomass scheme in place? I have walked around areas that were bare five years ago and they are now covered in trees that are 15 ft or 20 ft tall. There is much moisture and we have had a couple of warm summers so there has been much growth. Why are we not using that marginal land or areas in which to grow biomass? Many of these areas are connected by rail to the power station, as the Bord na Móna rail network is still in place in many places in north and west Offaly. What could be done?