Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett):

I concur with the concerns raised. We need to inject confidence into the sector. Our farmers will be key to this. We do not have many more hectares of State land to afforest, so if we are to meet our targets, we will rely almost wholly on private landowners and farmers. I reject the claim that we give preferential treatment to Coillte. It supplies 75% of the timber for Irish sawmills and receives approximately 65% of the felling licences. I do not think that is preferential treatment. Will Deputy Browne ask that full question later? I have a more extensive answer for him for that.

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