Ms Geraldine O'Sullivan:

There have been huge issues. It caused a major slump in global timber markets because such volumes were coming from Europe.

There was such an oversupply. There have been huge protests among the communities that have had these forests for generations. We are very lucky here that we have such fast-growing spruce. It can take 80 plus years for these types of forest to grow in these countries. It has been devastating for the forest owners. There would be a large number of private forest owners within these countries. It is a 50-50 scenario, similar to our situation. They have had to clear-fell those forests early. There are also restrictions on what they are planting back. It has had a huge impact. There have been significant protests and huge implications, and different supports have been needed. At a European level, FOREST EUROPE, which is a grouping of 46 different signatories, is working through that data to try to develop and understand what best management strategies should be put in place. It has devastating consequences, and billions have been lost.