Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 1668: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his attention has been drawn to any plans to afforest peatlands held by Bord na Mona; and if such planting was approved if Bord na Mona is eligible for afforestation premia. [33413/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has granted approval for a 48 hectare pilot afforestation project on industrial cutaway peatland owned by Bord na Mona. The project is not eligible for forestry premiums.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 1669: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the position regarding the review of State forestry policy to take account of its role in relation to climate change, detailing the way climate change is affecting decision making in the Forest Service and Coillte Teo. [33414/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The role of forestry in relation to climate change forms part of the ongoing review of State forestry policy. The Review Group is scheduled to report by the end of the year.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 1670: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the position regarding the progress of the new Forestry Act for which public consultations were first held in 1999; and if he will confirm if this review will include the 1988 Forestry Act establishing Coillte Teo. [33415/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has approved the heads of the Forestry Bill, and discussions are continuing between my Department and the Office of the Attorney General with a view to finalizing the text of the Bill. It would be my intention to publish the Bill in the current Parliamentary Session. A comprehensive review of the Forestry Act, 1988, establishing Coillte Teoranta, is not proposed at present.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 1671: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will confirm that calculations of afforestation on peatlands include greenhouse gas targets; and if the calculations include changes in soils below ground as well as biomass. [33416/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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National calculations of greenhouse gas emissions and uptake in peatland afforestation include changes in soils below ground as well as biomass. Five carbon pools are reported: above ground biomass, below ground biomass, litter, dead organic matter and soils. Calculations are in accordance with the Common Reporting Formats of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the greenhouse gas reporting guidelines for land-use, land use change and forestry set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 1672: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will identify the area of peatlands which has been replanted with forestry after felling in each year since 2000. [33417/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Felling licence applications do not make reference to the soil type in which trees are planted. Therefore the Department does not collate the information requested.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 1673: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if any analysis has been done or is held by his Department of the environmental effects of replanting of forestry on peatland; and if he will furnish any relevant reports. [33418/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Analysis has been done by my Department, through COFORD (National Council for Forest Research and Development), on the environmental effects of forestry operations, including forest replanting, on peatland.

The PEnrich project (Forestry Operations and Eutrophication), was a joint COFORD/EPA funded project which examined the influence of forestry and forest operations on water quality. The project studied, inter alia, the influence of forest operations such as harvesting — clearfelling, thinning and re-establishment of forests in a blanket peatland catchment on the Ballinagee River, in the Wicklow Uplands. The final project report is available from the EPA. Another joint COFORD/EPA research project — "Quantification of Erosion and Phosphorus Release from a Peat Soil Forest Catchment (Xiao, L. Rodgers, M. O'Connor, M., 2008), examined the effects of clearfelling and reforesting in peat soil forest catchments. The final report is available from EPA.

In addition to the above work, my Department is currently funding a number of research projects which are examining, inter alia, issues relating to the impact of various forestry operations on peatland and other sensitive sites and the potential mitigation measures to avoid such impacts. The SANIFAC project is carrying out an assessment and mitigation of soil and nutrient losses from acid-sensitive (peat) forest catchments and is due to be completed later this year. The WESTFOREST project aims to develop a decision support system for the optimal management of forests on sensitive western peatland sites. The project is focusing on forests established on peatlands and other environmentally sensitive areas, where felling and reforestation decisions need to take environmental factors into account. The REDAREAS project has examined alternative management options for forests planted on western peatlands, including options for redesigning some of those forests to provide environmental services rather than timber production.

The HYDROFOR project is a joint COFORD/EPA research project which is being undertaken by UCD. The project is examining the potential impact of forestry on surface water quality with respect to acidification, eutrophication and sedimentation at the various stages in the forest cycle. Work scheduled for Autumn 2010 includes a hydrochemical assessment of reforestation sites. Further information on these projects will be available shortly on the Departments website.