Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As of 16 December, Coillte was contractually obliged. To the Deputy, any other Member of the Oireachtas or anyone engaged in the forestry sector who was paying attention to Coillte's publicly advertised plans to use private investment to help it afforest, the principle that it was going to engage private investment was well known and open knowledge. Obviously, the tendering process to put that investment in place was a sensitive commercial matter that had to be done in accordance with the law. That was a matter for Coillte, which acted in accordance with its remit.

The deal accounts for 1% of the State's overall ambition between now and 2050. It is not our preferred way to go, though, and we engaged with Coillte about the matter last week and have been discussing it in great detail. In the time ahead, we will be engaging much more on how we can work together on making the State a key part of the work and on the potential of Coillte working directly with farmers.