Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his interesting reply. I have carried out some experiments in this area. For example, much of the focus has been on native deciduous species which are, of course, not the best at sequestering carbon. In fact, Sitka spruce is one of the most efficient in that area probably because of its growing lifespan. Interestingly, the Sequoia, which is a fairly large tree with huge capacity and which grows quite rapidly at up to 60 ft over 25 years, is not to be sniffed at. We have an opportunity to be able to illustrate to everyone in urban and rural Ireland that this is an area where we can double or quadruple our capacity in terms of carbon sequestering.

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