Ms Imelda Hurley:

Albeit I am new to Coillte, the use of land over the lifetime of the organisation was something that I wanted to understand before I joined and, indeed, understand further. I note the point that the Deputy made about Coillte not increasing its landbank in respect of increased afforestation. There are enablers that, ultimately, are somewhat challenging for Coillte in that regard. One is that we do not have access to grants and premia that are available to the private sector. As a result, when land becomes available there is competition for that land and it is question of financial wherewithal.

Second, the availability of land and finding land to plant is an issue in the first place. As alluded to earlier, farmers find it difficult to give up their land almost forever. When we think about that we think forward and that it would be important that land suitable for forestry is identified and, hopefully, that will be a key enabler of allowing increased afforestation.