asked the Minister for Lands if a survey has been carried out to establish the extent of Dutch elm disease in Ireland.

Cavan): A survey has been carried out by the Forest and Wildlife Service of my Department in order to establish the distribution of the disease in Ireland. Results to date show that it is widespread and occurs most frequently in the limestone regions of the east and southeast. The elm is not, of course, a major component of the Irish landscape and thus the visual impact of the disease is not at all as severe as it is in Britain.