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

The following was spoken about earlier. We had, I think, the OPW and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at one of our committee meetings, at which it was stated that a contract would be put out to get LiDAR done on all of the country to know what we have and what we do not have. My understanding was that the tender was to go out last October. That was the timeline we were talking about. That related to forestry, I think. This was the time we were at Devenish and so on. My understanding was that the contract was to go out to tender. Devinish told us that when LiDAR work is being done, it needs to be at 15 sq. m and that any longer does not produce accurate results. It will count all the sequestering and so on. My understanding was that the contract was to go out last spring. Has anything been done in that regard? Does the Department have any tie-up with the OPW to make sure that will be done? The simple reason I ask that question, which is for Mr. Kierans, is that nearly every day I come to Dublin I drive about 120 miles and there are bushes and trees everywhere I go and not one of them is accounted for within our carbon mitigation plans. Why have they not been put in as mitigation? It seems the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine set a target in 2016, as Deputy Carthy pointed out earlier, of 8,000 ha. All we have reached is 50% of that, and in 2045 we will see the knock-on effect of that, with the Department, not the farmers, having actually caused the problem. "Forestry" is now a dirty word among the farming community. Farmers do not want even to hear about it. The only thing that might tick the box is the legislation we are bringing in that allows for a hectare to be planted. It might cover a farmer in the eco scheme and whatever other measures and ensure that the civil servants are covered and will be able to tick the box that we have done the 8,000 ha. In fact, however, nothing will have been contributed to the commercial side, although it might do a bit for our sequestration. We have failed in that. Where are we on the LiDAR system? That is what I want to know.