Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
2116. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will as a shareholder in Coillte Teoranta clarify details regarding the area of the Coillte estate that is on peat soils. [42657/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe abstract from the 14th International Peat Congress refers to Coillte owning over 445,000 hectares of land, of which 232,000 ha are peatlands. These estimates refer to both forest lands and the large unplanted areas.
In the letter from my Department to Directorate-General for the Environment of the European Commission (dated 24-11-21), a response was provided in relation to a number of issues concerning Irish forestry and the environment. The letter stated that one third of Coillte’s entire estate (c.136,000ha) is on peatland soils. This figure refers to the portion of Coillte estate along the western seaboard and does not relate to the entire Coillte estate nationally. The figures quoted are based on information provided by Coillte in their work on the Wild Western Peatlands Project which aims to restore and rehabilitate approximately 2,100 hectares of Atlantic blanket bog and heathland that is currently planted with lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce forests.
