Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 436: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of acres of forestry which have been planted for each of the past ten years; her views on whether it may not be wise or sensible to restrict forestry in all the areas suggested in some of the national media to preserve hen harriers; her further views on whether a lot of the land suggested is prime forestry land and that any limit put on same could affect the viability of farm holdings and could potentially devalue the land in these areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33907/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Regarding the number of hectares of land placed under grant-aided afforestation from 1995 to 2004, the total area is 146,734 hectares or 362,579.71 acres. These figures can be broken down as follows:

In regard to the nine indicative areas identified as potential hen harrier habitats by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, it is estimated that between 280,000 hectares and 300,000 hectares could be affected.

Much of this land has already been planted and more is unplantable because it is situated above the 300 metre contour or would not provide a sufficiently high yield class. There remains, of course, a bank of land within these indicative areas that would be suitable for forestry and I am anxious to ensure that, as far as possible, its potential in this regard for sustainable forestry development is not unduly restricted and that due regard is had for the legitimate interest of the farming community. The forest service of my Department and the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government are consulting closely on this matter.