Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Glennon for the presentation and welcome the other witnesses. Much of what I wanted to say has been said. I have great concerns about the proposed sale of Coillte’s harvesting rights. There seems to be cross-party agreement on the issue. The company is not just about the timber but the added value of what is involved such as land rights. Those issues will be on the table when a decision has to be made.

Most of the issues have been addressed. The witnesses pay a 29% premium. Is that due to the fact that they are not allowed to import timber because we have disease-free status?

It is stated in the EPS Consulting report that we are not reaching the targets on afforestation and that we would need to plant 25,000 ha per annum. Unfortunately, that aim is at cross purposes with another vision in this country, namely, Food Harvest 2020, whereby we are seeking to produce more milk, beef and sheepmeat from our land - increasing production by 50%. If one puts land into afforestation, one takes it out of what is available for Food Harvest 2020. Is there not a contradiction about the future direction of the country? Is our future in afforestation or in Food Harvest 2020 and the production of more food? I would welcome a comment in that regard.

Coillte has a monopoly and while there have been some private forestry plantations in this country in the past 20 years the vast majority are in partnership either with Coillte or some other company. What percentage of the forests in this country are still held in private hands that would be able to supply companies such as those before the committee, or is that not feasible due to insufficient supply?