Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 February 2013
56. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on a report commissioned by Impact, entitled Assessment of the Consequences of the Proposed Sale of Coillte’s Timber Harvesting Rights, which found no economic case for the sale of Coillte's harvesting rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10368/13]
View answerProposals for the sale of Coillte's harvesting rights under the State assets disposal programme are being considered within the context of a full and rigorous assessment of all the implications of a harvesting rights transaction for both the company and the timber processing sector in general.
My department has actively engaged with Coillte, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the NewERA unit of the NTMA over recent months to examine the financial and other implications of a harvesting rights sale. In this context, a number of detailed financial, technical and other specialist reports have also been prepared by external advisors in full consultation with the Board of Coillte and its executive management.
The authors of the IMPACT commissioned report, on the other hand, have not had the opportunity to consider the very detailed information available to the State and their analysis of the potential costs and proceeds from a harvesting rights transaction appears to be based on historical, publicly-available information as well as a number of assumptions in relation to transaction structure and sale conditions which are not necessarily in line with the proposals that the Government is currently developing.
