Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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617. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if there is a policy in place on the burning of significant quantities of wood for commercial purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16257/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Bord na Móna is a commercial State company operating under the Turf Development Acts 1946 to 1998. The matter raised by the Deputy is operational in nature and not one in which I, as Minister, have any function.

The use of biomass for energy production is supported by the Refit 3 programme, of which Edenderry Power Ltd (EPL) is a beneficiary. The various forms of biomass used by EPL are residues from existing sustainable forestry and other similar activities. Residues include, among other things, saw dust and brash from forestry operations and tree bark stripped from trees in sawmills. This is material which would otherwise have been wasted.