Catherine Martin
Question:245. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason Coillte has stopped afforesting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23695/17]
View answerThursday, 18 May 2017
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Written answers
Coillte CGA was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as the management of their forest estate, are the responsibility of the company.
The matter was, however, raised with Coillte who advise that the company does not qualify for the afforestation grants and premium payments that are available to the private forest sector under the Forestry Programme, which are an incentive for other landowners to afforest their land. Coillte added that, notwithstanding this ineligibility, the company continues to look for options to establish new forests where it makes commercial sense to do so and is actively considering the role it can play in facilitating the overall growth of the national forest estate. The company further advise that it has recently taken steps to play a role in the private forestry sector through the launch of its Coillte Premium Partners initiative, which is aimed at strengthening the broader industry and on increasing the mobilisation of the private timber resource.