Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 February 2024
488. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine , further to a response issued to a previous Parliamentary Question on the existing farm partnership arrangements with Coillte, if he will now address issues (details supplied) raised by individual landowners which are of huge concern to them and continue to be ignored or misrepresented by Coillte. [6255/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn my previous response regarding the existing farm partnership arrangements with Coillte, I mentioned that Coillte CGA has a farm partnership portfolio of 644 farm partnerships, which accounts for over 12,000 hectares of productive forests.
Coillte’s farm partnership forests are well-managed to create sustainable, valuable assets for both the farm partner and Coillte. The vast majority of these partnerships are working well. In a small number of cases, farm partners have raised issues such as poor communication and transparency of information and Coillte have assured me that the company works with all its farm partners to resolve any issues they may have.
It is important to keep in mind that Coillte was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988, and day-to-day operational matters, such as the Coillte Farm Partnership Scheme, are the responsibility of the company.
I have therefore referred the detailed queries in relation to operational matters regarding Coillte’s Farm Partnership Scheme to Coillte for direct follow-up with the Deputy.
