Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise only one issue, which relates to Coillte. We know that Coillte has 390,000 ha under forestry in this State. That is an enormous natural and national asset and resource, and it is very important. There has been great discussion on the possibility of elements of Coillte being privatised or sold off. We know that there are a further 90,000 ha dedicated to biodiversity, or non-core forestry activity, which is a vast amount of land. As I say, this is a very rich natural and national resource and asset. It is important to have the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, in the House at some stage in the future to have a debate about forestry - where it is going, what plans there are for it and the greater vision for forestry for the next two to three years. He is very committed to the forestry sector. He lives in Wicklow himself.

Will the Leader consider the possibility of extending the time for the Minister, currently scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., by an extra 15 minutes? One does not need to be a mathematician to know that there are a number of people in the House who will speak. If one person from every group speaks, including one or two of the other Independent Members who are not aligned to any group, 60 minutes will not be sufficient for all speakers and a response from the Minister. It is physically not possible to have one person from each group and the two non-aligned Independent Members speak for eight minutes and have the Minister respond, all within 60 minutes as the Leader is proposing. Could we even get 15 minutes, if possible? We will clearly not have eight minutes and we will be talking in a jam jar. The Minister will not have an opportunity to respond. That really is not satisfactory. If it is at all possible, can we have an extension, possibly by 15 minutes, just to facilitate meaningful debate?