Mr. Padraig McConn:

We supply approximately 300 hardware and co-operative shops and branches. We are afraid to import because of the ban. We are supposed to be out of it by the end of April. We are afraid to have a lot of it in the yard. It is like what Mr. Williamson said. We have to order stakes eight or nine months in advance to meet the demand when spring comes in. Approximately half of my business is in creosote posts. I have the same problem as Mr. Williamson and Mr. Geoghegan. We just cannot get the product. We are afraid to buy it because of what might happen if we had a lot of product in the yard and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine decided to call on us next May or June. What would happen if we had 50 loads of timber in the yard? We do not because we cannot get it, but if we could get it, what would happen then? All we are looking for is an extension on this for a year or two until the proper treatments are available and we can get the product we want for the farmer that will last the test of time. Creosote posts will last the test of time.

With the type of creosote post Mr. Williamson, Mr. Geoghegan and I bring in, people could catch them in their hands. There is no leakage from them. They are not wet because they are vacuum dried. When we import them, it takes two to three hours to vacuum them stone dry. If they come in wet, they will not be allowed across the English Channel. They must be dry. I cannot see why it is a problem to put the posts in the ground in Ireland when they are so dry. There is no dribble off them anywhere. If anyone comes to my farm to look at the posts I put down ten years ago, they would not see any weepage on the ground. That is all I have to say on the matter.