Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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I would like a bit of give and take and efforts to sort out those issues. I have dealt with Coillte on a number of issues such as right of way or land swaps. I find the staff to be very co-operative and willing to help. There was a very large project in the north of my county where a significant volume of timber was landlocked and we got an agreement to get access to it. The process of putting a bridge across a river is beginning. There is a significant volume of timber that it will be possible to clear fell.

One thing I cannot get my head around, and this is more of a statement than a question, is the fact that Coillte is talking about having 30% primarily for nature by 2025 and 50% in the long term. If we put so much non-commercial timber into the system, how are we going to have enough timber for houses in the future? I would be very concerned that there is not enough timber of the commercial variety. I know some people have a focus on biodiversity, etc., but the full balance sheet is not being used and the saving in emissions in using timber instead of concrete is not being put into calculations. It is all about biodiversity and there is not enough about what that timber will be used for in 30 or 35 years. I am concerned about those targets - taking 50% of our timber out of commercial and using it for biodiversity. I would be very worried about that.