Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

I thank Deputies Sherlock and Creed for their generosity in sharing their time.

Forestry provides an alternative source of income for farmers who have land unsuited to stock or tillage. It can have an input into the production of alternative energy using biomass, woodchip and thinnings. However, despite some effort to encourage the planting of trees, the level of afforestation remains very low. In 2007, approximately 724,000 hectares, or 10% of the land area, was under forest. This compares with the EU 27 average of 42%, which is alarming.

The benefit of forestry, particularly to marginal land in the west and south west, cannot be stressed enough. In my county, Kerry, there are 33,000 hectares under forest, comprising 1,300 small forestry farms. The small size of the farms and the lack of necessary supports contribute to economic disadvantage in the area.

Last year, the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food produced a report on farming in the west. One proposal made to the committee was that small farmers should pool their resources to maximise potential. This is the way to make progress.

The extent of afforestation in more marginal land demonstrates its importance. County Leitrim has the second highest afforestation density while County Wicklow has the highest.

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