Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Moloney and wish him the best in his new role as chairman of Coillte. I do not have a particular question. As a Kilkenny man, I have seen how Mr. Moloney turned Glanbia into a world power in the food area. Now that he is involved with a State company, he will have to look at things differently. Some 7% of the land of Ireland is owned by Coillte, but the company cannot really compete for land against private enterprise, because it is not allowed draw subsidies for planting and so on. Therefore, would Mr. Moloney's vision for Coillte involve going into more partnerships with farmers or private companies?

Mr. Moloney is now wearing a Coillte cap in respect of the use of land for forestry, as opposed to his time driving Glanbia, when quotas were going to maximise milk output. I know it is a different type of land, but a lot of good land has been planted as well.

I wish Mr. Moloney the best of luck. I will be interested to come back in a year to see what is happening with Coillte because I know he will change the vision and the outlook of the company, and I think he will make a great difference to it.