Mr. Mark Carlin:

I understand the point the Deputy is making, and I want to try to address it. He has asked if we have considered this. We have considered very carefully how Coillte can get back into afforestation. This is meant to be additional. It is not meant to squeeze farmers. Farmers are absolutely going to have to carry the lion's share here in terms of afforestation. They are the largest landowners, and the environment has to be encouraged back into forestry. We will continue to work with the other forest companies on this. It is the case that where land has been acquired, the planting of these crops can be carried out with forestry companies too, so we hope that a rising tide will life all boats. When it comes to the type of fund, it is important to understand that these are institutional long-term investors. They have to be the right investor to be in this model.

It is not in our interest to drive land prices up, as land is the very thing we are trying to acquire. We are already buying land and we will continue to do that very responsibly. The big question is what percentage of afforestation we should be involved in. We have stated our ambition that it should be in and around 20%. We are open to feedback on whether we need to step up further to meet the national target. It is critically important to understand the scale of the challenge to get to 8,000 ha and beyond every year. We have been asked several times what we are doing about that. For the State forester to get back involved in this is the best vehicle. I understand the concerns that have been raised and that is something we are going to have to consider and monitor very carefully.