Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I am aware of it. I spoke as recently as last night to SmartPly. I got the opportunity to visit the plant last week as it is down the road in New Ross in my neighbourhood.

There is a positive and a negative in this instance. It is a good news story for farmers in that it will put a floor on the price of pulp wood, however, there are difficulties in other respects. In my role as Minister of State with responsibility for forestry I am concerned about the possibility of virgin fibre being used. We want trees to go through their full life rather than for forests to be cut down and burnt, which would mean the end of the trees. We would prefer to see trees go through the sawmill process and the timber being used for other products which means add-on value through the process. This is an issue that is of concern to me in the forestry sector. I will keep a close eye on matters. I intend to speak to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, on the matter. I am fully aware of it and I have had a long discussion about it with my Department this morning.

See this speech in context