Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late but I had to deal with another important issue. Mrs Gray is very welcome. She has much experience and given that she comes from a rural area of County Longford, I anticipate that her sympathies may be more consistent with the importance of the industry in places such as rural County Longford or rural County Westmeath, where I come from. She will know the importance of Glennon Brothers and what it has done there. It is a tremendous international company which will watch Brexit closely in respect of exports and so on, although at least it has a presence in Scotland and, therefore, the impact of a hard Brexit, which grows ever more likely, may be mitigated for it. My uncle worked in forestry for 40 years and worked in the former Department with responsibility for forestry, which predated Coillte. I greatly regret that while Ms Gray's predecessor may well have turned forestry around, a role which she will continue, it has been at a considerable sacrifice. There is much forestry around my home. County Westmeath has good land with large tracts of forestry in Barrettstown, where I live. I remember three or four men used to carry out thinning all year and do all that type of work. They worked in Moranstown, in the red bog, across the way into the forest at Ballinafid and up to Loughnavalley. One would find a snipe, which is a dying breed, more quickly than one would find a human being.

I love the bottom-line scenario that is always outlined by people such as Ms Gray, who is an accountant, although I cannot condemn accountants because my daughter is a chartered accountant and, therefore, I am not going into that. Accountants always look at the bottom line, however, and all they go after are the EBITA, and so on. I supported the Government in 2011 and 2012 when the issue arose and when Coillte was being begged for €3 million or €4 million in dividends, but the dividends are now at €15 million or €16 million over a period. While that is a great return, and while I am all in favour of getting a return for the State, we were very poor at that time. I recall the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, would scrape a pot together for a couple of million euros but we are now a little better off than that and, therefore, some of the money must be reinvested.

We should not discard the human input in what can be achieved in forestry. The mechanisation is all right. I understand that Coillte manages approximately 1 million acres, which is large, but few labourers are working in the maintenance of forests and very few people are employed. At one time, the aim was to plant approximately 10,000 ha. We fiddled around with 5,000 ha and 6,000 ha, and there was almost a cheer from the sidelines when we achieved 7,000 ha. For a business with State input - I note Deputy Eamon Ryan's presence - it is a disgrace. How can we encourage ordinary people to invest in forestry when the very vehicle that was brought into being by the State has failed to achieve its own targets? Will Ms Gray, as chairperson, ensure that we set about achieving those targets? I will not lecture anyone on the importance of forestry. Forests are a large reservoir for the protection and preservation of wildlife and they play an important role in the preservation of flora and fauna. Young people can be brought to the forest. There are many recreational, environmental, sustainable benefits, including for holiday and leisure, an area in which Coillte has recently begun work. At one time, I thought Coillte was going to enter the nursing home sector but wise heads prevailed. Even I, as a non-accountant, would say Coillte would have pulled the plug on that if it had been plugged before Coillte reached it.

Such benefits are why I became angry when I heard talk of the forest plantation objectives not being achieved. I am strongly in favour of carbon sequestration and we have seen the vital role it has. I hope that Coillte will work with farmers because there are great opportunities for those with small tracts of marginal land, and even those with not so marginal land, to engage and work on 5 ha or 10 ha. I hope that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine will eventually incentivise them to do that. While I acknowledge that it is not Ms Gray's remit, she is a person of figures. Farmers cannot go on forever producing products before they are decimated, such as in the suckler cow area. They will need something to supplement their income, and forestry represents significant potential for them in that regard. There must be a role for the farming community. Coillte should be prepared to work with the farming community on a collaborative basis, not as a competition.

Coillte has extended its commercial remit, which I understand. I attended all the openings, although I cannot recall the name of the company. It is shocking the way one's mind slips. Coillte sold an area of land at Newcastle Wood, County Longford, with which the committee will be familiar. It is a large holiday home site that will open in the summer ahead of schedule. I cannot think of the company even though I met its representatives on 100 occasions.