Forestry Sector

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 December 2012

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Questions (384)

Pearse Doherty

Question:

384. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a breakdown per year for the past ten years of the amount of State forestry land sold and being sold by Coillte and its value; the amount of State forestry land removed from forestry for development reasons and its value site sales, wind energy, roads, power lines and so on; the amount of State forestry land removed from forest cover due to environmental considerations and its lost timber value riparian zone clearance, return to wetlands and so on; the amount of land purchased and its value, by Coillte for new State afforestation; his plans to halt the sale of 1,109 acres of forestry in County Donegal; if he intends to submit a request to Coillte to withdraw the sale; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55262/12]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as the sale and acquisition of land which take place regularly, are the responsibility of the company.

Coillte has provided the following breakdown of the total area and value of property sales completed each year from 2003 to end November 2012.

Year	Area (Hectares)	Value (€m)
2003	473	13.64
2004	488	12.09
2005	775	38.67
2006	319	16.42
2007	552	22.48
2008	422	11.13
2009	590	13.48
2010	635	8.96
2011	346	10.62
2012 (to end November)	111	3.7

Coillte advise that the above figures relate to land sales for diverse uses including housing, commercial developments, tourism, windfarms, road widening and other national infrastructure developments and that a breakdown by category is not readily available.

In relation to the amount of State Forestry land removed from forest cover, Coillte advise that a total of 3,196 hectares has been converted to wetlands through Coillte's three LIFE NATURE projects. These lands would not have been considered highly productive despite carrying trees. As areas designated SAC for wetlands, this work has contributed to achieving national targets under the Habitats Directive. As for the lands removed due to environmental considerations and riparian zone clearance, Coillte advise that this information is not readily available and it would be time consuming to gather this data. The lost timber value has not been quantified.

As for the amount of land purchased by Coillte for new State afforestation, the company advises that Coillte has been deemed ineligible for forestry loss-of-income premiums since 1996 and is not in a position to purchase land for afforestation while ineligible for premiums. The company further advises that it has contributed to the national afforestation programme through forestry partnerships with farmers and the provision of forestry services to farmers and other landowners.

The land transaction mentioned by the Deputy is an operational matter for the company.