§ Mr. SHEEHYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Irish Agricultural Board has under consideration a reafforesting scheme for the waste lands in Besing and Flountane, county Cork; whether these lands have been inspected by Mr. Forbes, forestry expert, and declared by him to be the most suitable in Ireland for planting pine trees; and what practical steps, if any, are being taken to put the scheme into operation?
§ Mr. BIRRELLPreliminary inspections have been made of the lands referred to and many other areas of land in Ireland by the officers of the Department of Agriculture in Ireland since the Report of the Departmental Committee on Irish Forestry. The Department can make no statement as to the suitability or otherwise of any of these areas for forestry purposes, and they are not yet in a position to decide on purchasing any of them.