Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I fully acknowledge the Senator's positivity and commitment to the sector and welcome the fact he plans to attend some of the workshops. We see the promotion of forestry as something that enough people are already involved in. In the case of the forestry promotion project, as I indicated, a lot of private sector individuals are getting involved, which is very good given it is diverse, it spans the country and it allows people to see the benefits of forestry across the board, not least at a societal level. Teagasc is actively promoting forestry and there are a number of aspects to forestry promotion. Currently, the model works well and people can contact their Teagasc adviser to get direct advice on a one-to-one basis, and there is also a wider promotional campaign in the Department that will run forestry promotion projects throughout the country. At this time, therefore, I believe we are covering the promotion of forestry proactively. We have a new programme on which to deliver and I am excited about the future of that.