asked the Minister for Agriculture to state the total amount expended in each county in connection with forestry since the year 1922 up to and including 31st March, 1931; and also the total number of acres planted in each county during the same period.

asked the Minister for Agriculture to state the total amount expended in each county by the Forestry Branch in wages (excluding salaries of Departmental officials) since the year 1922, up to and including 31st March, 1931.

I will take these two questions together. As intimated to the Deputy in reply to a previous similar question on 6th December, 1929, the expenditure of the Department on afforestation is not made on a county basis. The furnishing of the figures for which he asks would entail the examination and analysis of sub-accounts for the nine years period referred to, and I do not consider that the expenditure of the considerable time and labour involved would be justified.

As regards the number of acres planted in each county during the period referred to, the following are the figures:—

Am I to take it from the Minister's reply that although he has given me the number of acres in each county, his Department has not a departmental record of the amount expended in each county?

Yes, they have a record but the forestry centres do not correspond with the county boundaries. Hence it would be necessary to get at the accounts for each forestry centre, analyse them, and divide them up as between each county to get the returns asked for by the Deputy. That would take a considerable time.

In view of the fact that the Minister was able to give me the number of acres planted in each county, surely his Department would have a record of the amount expended in each county?

There is a record. It is quite easy to get the acreage but the amount expended in any forestry centre might include expenditure in four or five counties. It does not refer to a particular county. You would have to take the amount and analyse it. The Deputy can take it that the expenditure bears the same proportion as the acreage. That would be approximately right.

Unfortunately it works out very badly as far as Donegal is concerned.