Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not buy the Minister's line that this is not his favoured option. My view is that public opposition has brought him to that point. He has a way of proving me and any critics wrong by ensuring that this does not happen again and that Coillte does not engage in this type of investment programme. There are two ways in which he can do that. He mentioned today that Coillte is planning to invest €10 million in this investment fund. The Minister is the shareholder. Such an investment has to be approved by Government. The Minister can stop such an investment. He can say to Coillte that if it has €10 million to invest, it should buy the land so that it remains entirely in public ownership. The second thing he can do is issue a new letter of expectation to Coillte to make it crystal clear that the primary shareholder in the company does not want to engage in this type of investment programme. The Minister should instead pursue a route in which the state aid rules can be used so that we can actually allow Coillte to do this, either on its own or in conjunction with local communities.

Will the Minister ensure that the €10 million is not invested in this programme and will he issue a new letter of expectation, setting out clearly what he has told this committee, to the board of Coillte?