Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Okay. It was stated Coillte was involved in approximately 50 land sale transactions a year. Does that figure include all transactions, large and small? Is it the case that all transactions of two acres or less are not included?

Our guests referred to land transferred to local authorities. I am very familiar with such land, particularly the parcel known as Bottle Hill dump which is now a €50 million white elephant. Coillte was paid handsomely for this land by Cork County Council; therefore, there was no fairy godmother operating in that instance. I stand to be corrected, but I understand Coillte's payback on this land was in the region of €15 million. It may only have been €14 million, but we will not argue about the difference.

In the context of social responsibility, I encountered an issue a number of years ago about which I am concerned. This probably relates to what Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív stated. In the instance to which I refer, a person's farm and house were on an island of land that was literally surrounded by forest. There was a need to run electricity cables into the property, but on foot of an agreement in place between Coillte and ESB Networks, the individual involved, the pensioner involved, was asked to pay €80,000 for the privilege. That was an absolutely crazy sum of money. Coillte refused to move in the matter, but, in fairness, ESB Networks absorbed the cost. Mr. Gunning can disagree strongly, if he so wishes.