Mr. Mark Carlin:

I will answer the questions on peatlands and Mote Park. The Deputy is correct that the last time we appeared before the committee we discussed the area of peatlands on the Coillte estate. Coillte has approximately 120,00 ha or 130,000 ha of deep peat that was planted. We do not plant those areas any more but that is the forest we have. Coillte has done extensive research on that in terms of what to do next with those forests. It is a matter of rewetting, rewilding or replanting. We have identified approximately 30,000 ha that is an emission risk form a carbon point of view. As peatlands are drained, there is an emission from that. We need to look at redesigning those forests. Some of them will be redesigned by removing the trees completely and rewetting where rewetting can be done. Sometimes it cannot be and where it cannot we will look at removing the existing conifer crops and rewilding to create a semi-natural wilderness with the likes of birch and elder and things like that as well. On other areas of peatlands where trees are growing well such as spruce and pine, we will continue to grow forests similar to that because what we get the benefit of the wood from that for construction as well. We are trying to come up with a mixed strategy to deal with peatlands in terms of rewet, rewild and replant as well.