Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not go back over a lot of what my colleagues have said. One of the big things I encountered on Roscommon County Council before Storm Éowyn was the guidelines required for clear corridors in forestry for power and telephone masts and the proximity to roads and the enforcement and monitoring of those guidelines. That is one thing I wish to raise with the Minister of State.

A few of my colleagues mentioned the issue of roadside trees. Local authorities need to be resourced to treat roadside trees or to remove them. I know some of my colleagues do not agree with the latter approach. Tree management plans are what local authorities are following at the moment, but there is a safety element there. Many local authorities need assistance with removing these trees.

As for trying to hit the target of 8,000 ha of tree planting, I am looking at what has happened in other sectors and what other things we will need in that sector when we hit these targets. Arborists and arboriculture apprenticeships are something we need to promote right now in order that we will have the people on the ground to deal with this supply in a couple of years' time when the Minister of State hits the targets he is looking to achieve. Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB, has a practical hands-on course in Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre. It is very well subscribed. I would welcome the Minister of State visiting that facility at some stage.

We spoke about the 25,000 tonnes of trees that came down during Storm Éowyn. I may have that figure wrong. The mills are getting through that supply at the moment but, as there is an oversupply, there is a reduction in the actual price forestry owners are getting. My colleague, Senator Brady, made me aware that, for the first time in the history of the State, private forest owners have exported sawlog. A total of 3,000 tonnes of sawlog left Dundalk Port destined for Belgium last weekend. This was done without help or assistance from the Department. Forestry owners did it by themselves to achieve a fair price for their product.