Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. It is opportune they are here to discuss this matter. Over the past year, the discussions we had on Coillte played a significant role in the decision. I would like to think the discussions today and those following them will play an important part in what may come out of them. Like other speakers, I have concerns about the proposed merger mentioned in the earlier observations.

The forestry industry plays a significant role in Ireland, especially rural Ireland, and 12,000 jobs are not to be sniffed at. If foreign companies were coming to Ireland and creating 12,000 jobs, that would be the main item on the news. It is important we sustain the jobs we have.

Mr. Glennon summed up the situation with his most recent observations. There are a number of big issues, the main one being the log supply. It is my understanding that a significant proportion of logs are imported from Scotland. Those logs are imported at a lower cost than that of producing logs here. That does not make sense. If we can import raw materials at a lower cost than producing them ourselves, something is obviously wrong. Do the witnesses have any further information on this? That situation is not sustainable in the longer term.

The witnesses argued that there is no commercial justification for the public entity to engage in harvesting and associated haulage activities. There has been much talk about a proposed significant investment in board plants in the country, particularly in the south east, and I ask the witnesses for their views on that. Is there a justification for this? If it does not happen, what will be the result?

It is important that certainty is created for the industry in the very near future. A degree of certainty emanated from the final decision on harvesting rights announced last year. We need to move on and put a timeframe in place for future plans. Will there be a merger and what will be the consequences of that? I have concerns about whether a merger is the right way to go. I am not convinced that the two organisations are compatible. That question must be teased out further before we move on. To some extent, I agree with Deputy Ó Cuív that we may be putting the cart before the horse in these discussions. These discussions should have taken place before the Bill was produced at the end of last year. These discussions should have informed the preparation of the Bill rather than the Bill informing our discussions. This meeting has been very interesting and the observations made have been valuable. However, we need to hear more before we move on.