Mr. Francie Gorman:

Going back to the economic impact, the greatest economic impact that will be felt in the forestry sector if the bark beetle comes in will be at farm level. That is 100% the case. If we want a forestry sector in this country, we must be prepared to support our farmers, in particular, and the wider industry as well. A total of 65% of Sitka spruce forestry is owned by farmers. It is hugely important that the economic consequences at farm level are considered first. If the review is done in a timely and efficient manner, the temporary suspension will not have to be for a huge length of time. There is enough supply of timber in the chain to be able to service the industry in the meantime. It is about getting the review done in a timely and efficient fashion and getting back to business as normal after that. If the bark beetle comes in and gets its foot under the table here, there will be more than one sawmill going out of business.

As we said already, the easiest way for bark beetles to come in is through timber consignments. All right, they may be airborne or may come in through the machinery, but timber is the biggest carrier. That is why the review needs to focus on making sure that every consignment of timber is inspected, that the rules and regulations are enforced and that enough staff are in place to do the job properly. We must also look at the legislation side and ensure that EU plant law is not used as a fallback mechanism for doing nothing. That is not good enough. If EU plant law states it cannot do anything about it until the bark beetle comes in here, it is not good enough. We cannot suspend the importation of timber into this country because there may be bark beetle infestations in a consignment. If we wait until the consignment comes in and we find the beetles are here, it is too late. Perhaps Ms O'Sullivan will come in on some of those points.