Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will give a short opening statement followed by questions and answers. I hope the Ministers will not play down the clock. I certainly will not.

The proposed deal relates to the potential acquisition of 100,000 ha of forestry across the country by Gresham House, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange. That company has been in existence since 1857. Is it any wonder that its share price jumped higher following the announcement of this deal? The bottom line is that the deal between Coillte and Gresham House to privatise Irish woodland can be stopped by the Government which has the power to approve or reject the deal. The Government must be honest about this. It is a simple fact that any strategic decision of this magnitude by a semi-State company can be stopped by any Government. The only reason a Government would pretend not to have the power to stop it is that it is up to its neck in this deal and wants it to go ahead.

Gresham House is a publicly traded company and its shares are owned by a wide range of shareholders, including institutional investors and individual investors. The company's share register is maintained by its registration in Equiniti Limited. However, the deal involving Coillte will strip Ireland of land owned by our people and vest it in the hands of a very large institutional investor. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine plans to stand over the deal by giving taxpayer-funded forestry payments to a mega company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

This deal is wrong and disgraceful at many levels. The number of emails coming through from my constituency and probably from others is evidence of that, not least because it robs Irish farmers of the funds available on the forestry premiums and will also drive up the price of all agricultural land in the country. The Taoiseach told the Dáil last week and again this week that the deal had not been signed off at Cabinet. Replying to a question from Deputy Naughten last week, he said:

I confirm it was not signed off by Cabinet. Coillte is a State-owned enterprise and its board makes its own decisions. There was no memo for information to Cabinet at any point.

That response by the Taoiseach last week raises a number of important questions. Why was this not discussed by Cabinet or brought to the attention of Cabinet? I believe it highlights a gross failure by the senior Minister and the Minister of State, first, to raise this issue with Coillte when they became aware of the deal and, second, to ensure the deal was paused until it was brought to the attention of Cabinet and debated in the Dáil.

This deal represents the largest sell-off of Irish land to a foreign entity since our independence. Surely, therefore, any competent Minister should take this very seriously and use the democratic process to ensure the deal was not just pushed through with a nod and a wink. The lack of transparency on this deal is disgraceful. The overall deal also highlights that the Minister and Minister of State were either asleep at the wheel once again or complicit by their silence to the deal.

I have questions and I hope the Ministers will be able to answer them pretty quickly and not play down the clock.

When did the Minister become aware of the deal?