Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 May 2013
193. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position in relation to the proposed sale of harvesting rights on Coillte-owned land; if he acknowledges the significant role Irish forestry can play in investment and job creation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21450/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, Coillte and its assets have come under consideration as part of the State assets disposal programme, which is being undertaken as part of our commitments under the EU/ECB/IMF funding programme and with a view to generating resources for additional investment in job creation initiatives in the economy. The Government has, nevertheless, explicitly ruled-out the sale of Coillte’s land holdings.
Instead, the Government determined last year that a concession for the harvesting rights to Coillte forests represented the best option to release value from Coillte in the short to medium term. A Steering Group was established, comprising the relevant Government Departments and NewERA, to progress this matter and to report back to Ministers on how this could be done.
NewERA, on behalf of the Steering Group, has been working closely with Coillte to analyse the various financial, policy and technical issues that would arise in the context of a proposed sale of harvesting rights. These include all of the concerns that have been raised by various interest groups, including the issue of public access to the forests, replanting obligations to ensure the continued existence of our forests, harvesting policy, the issue of supply of timber to the local saw mills, etc., as well as the implications for Coillte itself: Depending on the nature and scale of a transaction, the future viability of the company could be called into question by the disposal of its most significant asset. Therefore, any liabilities to which this might expose the Exchequer must also be quantified.
Specialist advisers were engaged by Coillte in late 2012 to further inform this process, and they reported at the end of November last. Since then, the Steering Group has been considering the results of the analytical work – this consideration is on-going - and relevant Ministers have been kept informed on progress to date. I expect the Steering Group to conclude this work very shortly, and to report to Government with its findings and recommendations.
I wish to assure the deputy that, in examining this issue, Government is conscious of the public value that Coillte provides in terms of investment and employment, and that a harvesting rights transaction will only proceed if it makes economic and strategic sense for the Irish people.
