Agriculture Committee Chairman expresses concern over Coillte’s admission of non-payments to landowners

The Managing Director of Coillte, Mr Gerard Murphy, has admitted that the state-owned body had problems in relation to communications and transparency in its dealings with landowners.

Committee Chair, Pat Deering TD said today, “As Chair of the Agriculture Committee, I am hugely concerned by Coillte’s admission that it has not paid landowners for the timber it has harvested from their lands. These landowners entered into partnerships with Coillte in good faith and in return for fair payment and in some cases, they have not been paid for years of harvesting. While I welcome Gerard Murphy’s statement admitting that this has been happening and that all payments are to be made in full in the next couple of months,  I will be asking the Committee to invite Coillte to appear before us once again as a matter of urgency to explain this situation. The Committee engaged with Coillte in December; this issue was raised and they are keeping the Committee updated on the matter. It is also anticipated that representatives from the IFA Forestry Committee would engage with us very soon.”