Mr. Brendan McKenna:

Yes, I have a vision. All of us who work in the organisation have a strong belief in the strength of the company. We are, however, beholden to our shareholder, which has asked the board to undertake a process of evaluation and determine the feasibility of selling the harvesting rights while maintaining the viable organisation left behind. That is the process we are in at present.

Even though the board is in total support of the Government's position on this, when a decision is put to the board it must give due consideration to the impact of that decision on the organisation, on its employees, on stakeholders such as sawmills and transport companies, on recreational users and on biodiversity and the environment. This is very complex. It is not like selling a self-contained unit of an organisation. No matter what way one looks at this, its tentacles reach out into all elements of our society.

With regard to guaranteeing supply to our operations and to sawmills, the process would have to include an explicit guarantee of supply to all users of fibre out of the forests.

It would be unacceptable to approve a process that did not carry that guarantee.

With regard to the SmartPly and Medite operations, SmartPly requires an investment of approximately €85 million which the board approved in July. It is being considered for approval by the relevant Departments. It should be noted that this plant was built to produce one product and its equipment is reaching the stage of metal fatigue. That is normal in this 24 hour, seven days a week process. In the past two years, in particular, because of the economic and market environment, we have shut it down and opened it up again in a pattern in order to balance our stocks according to market requirements. This has exacerbated the metal fatigue issue. It is the opinion of the board and the company that without investment, the organisation probably has a life cycle of three to four years and will cease to operate after that period because it will be unable to function. The investment is important for two purposes, the first of which is to maintain the operation and the usage of fibre from our forests because the back spin into Coillte is very important financially. It is also very important to the sawmills because we take out the sawdust. It is extremely important, therefore, that the investment is made at this point, as otherwise, if in a couple of years time a decision is made to sell the operating plant, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to purchase an operating plant with a utility-type product with an uncertain life cycle. The main issues are the continuation of the operation and the ability to produce the type of products that meet market needs. We are designing such products in co-operation with our external partners.

With regard to a dividend, the board is of the view that Coillte is not like other semi-State organisations. Our dividend is paid back every year as capital investment in forests. Since 1988 Coillte forests have only been cash-positive on two or three occasions. All of the money is ploughed back into them, at an average figure of €35 million a year. The board has always held the view that this is a significant ongoing dividend to the State. A bigger dividend in cash, frankly, would entail less reinvestment in forest operations.

Part of the process involves the recognition of the right of the public to access the public areas of the estate, no matter what the location. This will be in focus in the process and one of the options that will be developed. The maintenance of public access costs in the region of €8 million to €10 million a year in expenditure on roads, pathways, the development of new cycle paths, etc. That cost is part of the dividend. The cash dividend is paid by Coillte in agreement with our banks. It was notified to our shareholder when Coillte negotiated the new bank covenants this year.