Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 June 2013
5. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actions he is taking in view of the report on alleged fraud in Coillte which was delivered to him by this Deputy and members of the timber saw milling industry some weeks ago; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29587/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI thank the Deputy and note he was tweeting earlier today that I would be answering this question. In the first instance, I wish to clarify that this matter relates to alleged irregularities, which are not specifically about Coillte, but which also have a wider perspective. This is an issue the Deputy has mentioned on a number of occasions, both in the Dáil and in the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. At the time, I asked the Deputy, if he had evidence on which I could act, to give it to me and I would act on it. I also advised that if there were questions which needed to be asked of the Coillte board about any type of fraudulent activity, I also would ask those questions. I have followed up as a result of the evidence the Deputy has provided.
As the Deputy is aware, due to other commitments I was not in a position to meet him personally to obtain the background information but I arranged for relevant senior officials of my Department to meet the Deputy and the members of the sawmilling industry to hear their concerns. That meeting was held on Wednesday, 29 May last and since then, it has been arranged that two officials from the forestry service of my Department would investigate the issue raised. I understand they have thoroughly reviewed the material received and will revert directly to the other attendees at the original meeting, as well as to Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan. I understand they also will be in contact with An Garda Síochána to ascertain the status of a complaint which was previously lodged with it.
Having noted the subject at issue, I am reluctant to discuss this matter without further investigation but I wish to reassure the Deputy, as previously advised by a senior official in my Department, that this issue will be investigated thoroughly and that the Deputy and representatives of the sawmilling industry will be given an update on progress shortly. I understand it was made clear to Deputy Flanagan that the Department would not be in a position to give him a detailed outcome of that investigation by today's Question Time. However, as soon as we credibly can do that, we will give information to the Deputy without delay. I cannot be more helpful than that on this issue.
At the time the aforementioned meeting took place, for some reason I was under the impression that the Minister would be in the House for Question Time on 12 June. We were given a promise at the meeting by the departmental official that the Department would be carrying out an investigation and would revert to us within three to four weeks. As it only has been three weeks since 10 a.m. today, another week will not break our hearts as this issue has been ongoing for more than a decade. It initially was brought up on 13 February with my friend, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, and was brought up in the Private Members' motion on forestry tabled by another great friend, Deputy Boyd Barrett - that sounds ominous - as well as at this meeting. If we are obliged to wait for another week, then so be it. I hope something finally is being done about it because unless this is the case, according to my information it has massive implications for the viability of the sawmilling industry. While I am not very savvy in the business world, were the Government still thinking of selling Coillte, it also would have implications there. Were I personally to buy something, I would like to ascertain whether all the books were correct in respect of what I was buying and so on.
I ask the Deputy to conclude.
I can wait another week but I hope those involved get fair treatment, because it takes some bravery to come forward with the information with which they came forward.
I spoke at some length to the departmental official the Deputy met and to whom he spoke. He is the Department's knowledge leader in respect of the forestry sector and he stated he is anxious to get to the bottom of this and to bring it to a conclusion before the end of the month. That is only another week or ten days.
Since the Deputy has mentioned the Coillte decision, I will be leaving the Chamber in approximately five minutes to attend a Cabinet meeting. Unusually, a Cabinet meeting is being held on a Wednesday rather than a Tuesday and I am bringing a recommendation on Coillte to the Cabinet today. Consequently, the Deputy will get an answer to his questions on the future of Coillte's harvesting rights and the Government's attitude to that, as well as to other issues regarding Coillte such as the potential of restructuring the company and so on. This is a decision I hope the Government will be able to take in an hour or so. This is just to inform the House.
Give Members a clue.
I presume the Minister will not tell Members in advance. Obviously, everyone will be waiting with bated breath for that decision. Regardless of the decision the Government will take, I hope it takes into account everything that has been said on the subject, as well as the impact it will have on the sawmilling industry etc. This House is at times rightfully criticised because of an absence of good debate on subjects but on this issue, there has been excellent debate. The question now is whether, after an excellent debate on the subject, it will be listened to because otherwise it was pointless.
