Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State might comment as well, but as I outlined at the start, I was aware that Coillte was going to engage with private investment in order to enable it to do the 100,000 ha when I was given a pre-briefing at the end of 2021. It was common knowledge throughout last year. Coillte published its strategic vision in April where it made that clear. Newspaper coverage of same at the time alluded to the fact that Coillte was going to use private investment. The briefings it provided to Oireachtas Members would have alluded to it as well. As is the regulatory requirement when engaging private funding, Coillte engaged with the ISIF and the tendering process. A Minister does not get involved in tenders.