Mr. Gerard Murphy:

When one carries out a material change to a crop, such as when felling, one is obliged to enter into a felling licence and the partner has to sign it. We would not go in to thin a crop without notification. We were asked whether we were putting stuff in our panel mills at the expense of the partner. When farm partners came in 20 years ago, most of what we did was export pulp and there were negative values in thinning. This was a major strategic issue for the industry and Coillte looked at developing a very strong pulpwood using sector, following which Medite Smartply came in. It accounts for a significant proportion of the market and without them we would probably have to export again. The decision to establish those plants provided economic benefits and a safe and secure market for pulpwood, which enabled the crops to be thinned.