asked the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry if he will hold an inquiry into a recent fire on the Ballyhoura, Doneraile forestry belt; if he is aware from reports that the fire commenced in the morning at 10.30 a.m. and it was not extinguished, even though it was brought to the attention of his officials as it was very obviously a threat from the time it commenced; the value of forestry burned, when replanting will commence; if there will be job losses as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

An inquiry by officials of my Department into the fires in question has been initiated and is continuing. Reports were received by the local forestry staff of a forest fire in the Ballyhoura area at 2.30 p.m. on 26 February 1986. Due to the difficulties of the terrain and adverse weather conditions the fire was not finally extinguished until 4.30 a.m. the following day — despite strenuous efforts of the forestry workers, fire brigades, gardaí and Army units. The fire destroyed about 300 hectares of young forest with a write-off value of £100,000. The area will be replanted as soon as possible and there will be no job losses arising from the fire.

The gardaí who are investigating the causes of the fire are following a definite line of inquiry and pending completion of their investigation I do not wish to make any further comment other than to express my appreciation and thanks to all concerned who helped in extinguishing the fires.

Would the Minister agree that there was a breakdown in communication between members of his staff because of the different areas that were involved? Would he agree that the fire was seen at 10.30 in the morning preceding the blaze? Would he explain to the House why there was such a misunderstanding among the area staff?

A small group initially tackled the fire but due to the increasing wind velocity they were unable to control the fire. The forester then implemented the major fire plan involving forestry workers, the fire brigade, the Gardaí and the Army. The efforts of those involved in fighting the fire — who numbered about 190 at one stage — were greatly hampered by the conditions, but the fire was eventually brought under control 13 hours after it was reported and totally extinguished at 4.30 a.m. I accept that initially there was an attempt to tackle the fire by a small group but when that proved not to be possible the major fire plan was brought into operation. Reports in the media of £20 million worth of timber lost and huge amounts of mature timber being destroyed were not in accordance with the facts. Only 300 hectares with a value of £100,000 were lost. The people involved, forestry workers, fire brigade, the Army and the Gardaí, showed their worth in being able to bring the fire under control and I am satisfied that everything was done to keep losses to the minimum. Compared to what was originally reported, this was a very small loss indeed.

I am right in saying that the fire was noticed at 10.30 in the morning and no action was taken until late evening. I have been informed that one of the reasons is the tight budget within the Department of Forestry. The two foresters concerned were not in agreement as to who was responsible for what. Their funding will be exhausted by October if the present trend continues and that was the major reason for the fire not being extinguished and the loss of trees in the area. The Minister must be more aware of that than I am.

My information is that the fire was reported to the forestry workers at a different hour from the one mentioned by the Deputy. He may be in possession of some facts unknown to my Department. There is an investigation currently taking place and if he has such facts his knowledge would be very useful to the Garda in investigating the causes of the fire.