Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for their presentations and apologise for missing the beginning of the meeting.

Clearly, the position is that the contracts which were developed at a time when forestry was a young enough concept for many were designed to encourage farmers to go down this route. The position seems to be - the delegates can correct me if I am wrong - that everything was weighted in favour of Coillte; by and large, it was getting the best deal everywhere it went. While business is business, at the end of the day the farmer owned the land and was providing the opportunity for everyone to make money.

Mr. Collins mentioned the issue of intestacy. I have come across a number of cases where the person who entered into the contract is deceased. Where do matters stand? What happens now? What mess is left behind?

The people who are sitting across from me are farmers. They sell whatever crop or product they produce at the most opportune time when they can make the most profit from it. They bring calves to the market or sell milk whenever they can make the most profit. In this case the farmers involved did not have the opportunity to pick and choose when they sold their product because it was being handled and sold by somebody else who was a big player in a big business in which there were peaks and troughs. The delegates can correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that much of the timber in the forests under the control of Coillte was used by it to fill in the troughs. When prices were at their lowest, that was when the timber was used, while timber from Coillte's own forests was held back until prices rose again. I certainly would consider that to be in breach of the contracts made. I looked through one of them and it seemed that it stated everything would be done to maximise profits for everybody involved, but I do not think that has been happening. As far as I can see, what has been happening is that the arrangements are being used by Coillte as a means to fill the troughs at times when prices are at their lowest to allow the merry-go-round to continue. At the end of the day, it is the farmer who has suffered the most. I would like to hear the delegates' comments. I am sure Coillte will have a different argument, which is fine and we will deal with it when we come to it.