Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 March 2013
108. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has seen the results of the geological survey conducted by Coillte; if he intends to make that survey public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15009/13]
View answerThis query about a geological survey has been asked in the House on a number of occasions. The background is that Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act 1988 and day-to-day operational matters such as the conduct of surveys are the responsibility of the company. My Department has contacted Coillte which has advised that it has not conducted a geological survey of the estate.
I note that this issue was raised by Deputy Martin Ferris when Coillte met the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine last October, in reply to which Coillte management stated that, while it had information on the extent of deposits of stone, sand and gravel, with regard to other deposits such as precious metals, the company had done no work in that area. I understand Coillte also suggested the Geological Survey of Ireland might be a possible source of information. Coillte has since advised my Department that it commissioned a study from NUI Galway in 2005 to identify and assess the extent of stone, sand and gravel deposits in areas of the estate where national data from Geological Survey of Ireland maps had indicated there might be such deposits. My Department does not have a copy of that report.
The Minister has said this question has been asked previously and getting an answer to it is particularly important in the context of the possible, or proposed, sale of harvesting rights. No doubt the Minister will say that is a different issue and that we are not selling the land, just the harvesting rights. In that context, if the profitable bit of State forestry is taken over by private interests and we are left with responsibility for the maintenance of the rest, the pressures on whatever agency is left running the rest to be sold further down the line because it will not have the means to generate revenue will become very great. I certainly believe we will be on a slippery slope towards full-scale privatisation of forests. That is the reason we should not even consider starting down that road.
A question, please.
Given that 7% of the landmass of the country is in the hands of Coillte, would it not be a priority to ascertain what is under that forestry and those lands in terms of mineral deposits such as oil, gas, sand, stone, gravel and so on which potentially could be very valuable? We need to know what valuable resources we have in the State, particularly at this time.
Should the Government not take a more urgent interest in this, just as it should take more interest in the detail of what is happening in such an important company? Does the Minister believe we need to know more?
I assure the Deputy that I do take interest in the detail of what is occurring in Coillte. If we find valuable natural resources underground, we must obviously examine how best we can use them. I hope the Deputy and others will support us in this regard. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in that the Deputy opposed vehemently the bringing ashore of natural resources just off the coast in his constituency, which resources would have been for the betterment of the State.
Coillte needs to use the entire land-bank as best it can, be it for forestry, wind power, public amenities or tourism. It is the job of Coillte as a commercial semi-State body not only to obtain a commercial return for its shareholders but also to serve the public good in all its activities. In that context, it is fair that we consider potential assets that may be under the land-bank, which, as the Deputy stated, represents 7% of the land mass of Ireland.
In any of these matters, I am for weighing up the risks and benefits. Putting an oil rig 6 km off the coast was all risk for the public and of no benefit given the licensing regime. That is also true if the Minister is making an oblique or not-so-oblique reference to fracking. We need to examine the environmental dangers. In any event, given the licensing and taxation regime, there is nothing in it for us. Therefore, why would we even dream of taking a risk in that context? What we and the public need to know are the facts. Who wants what Coillte has, and what does it have? To make any informed judgments on these matters, we need to know what we have. I suspect that some people know a hell of a lot more about what we have and its potential than we do. It is in this context that I am asking my question. I certainly believe that the sorts of people who might buy the harvesting rights or, at a later stage, State forestry will just be interested in the quick buck rather than the sustainable management of natural resources in the interest of the people and country as a whole.
Our forests have great financial potential. If the Minister states no geological survey has been done, will he have one carried out before considering a sale? Will there be an independent valuation? NewERA's valuation of potential harvesting rights at €600 million seems ridiculously low. Is there a price below which the Minister would not dream of selling the harvesting rights? Will he have the real worth of the assets, today and in the longer term, independently valued?
On Deputy Boyd Barrett's point, I was not referring to fracking. Much consideration is required before making a decision on fracking.
On Coillte, we are not proposing to sell anything except harvesting rights, which essentially means timber. There is a valuation of Coillte's commercial forests in terms of the standing timber and its future value. The valuation is the combination of a number of separate valuation processes, one of which was engaged in by Coillte itself. I believe there were two valuations by NewERA.
At my request, Deloitte looked at this issue on the basis of Coillte's accounts. A lot of work has been done on this issue. As a Government, we need to weigh up the potential value of that sale versus how it might affect other elements of the timber industry, how we can ensure this does not happen and the cost implications for an overall sale. All of these issues are being considered. When I bring a recommendation on the basis of all of these variables to the Government, an informed and cautious decision on the future of the harvesting rights of the commercial timber which Coillte owns will be made.
