Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Sale of Coillte's Harvesting Rights: Discussion (Resumed) with IMPACT

3:15 pm

Mr. Johnny Fox:

We are not Coillte but the Deputy's point is taken. The recent restructuring of Coillte is a serious attempt to reach out to the market in Ireland. I cannot speak for Coillte but I think there would be a change of attitude. I can say that, based on the discussions we have had about the latest restructuring, it would be more amenable to being a good supplier in the industry. I do not think it would want the negative publicity Deputy Flanagan has mentioned. We cannot speak for it except to say that from what we know that would not necessarily be the prevailing view in the company. If that happened in the past everyone would agree that it should not have. From a worker's point of view it would not be in anyone's interest for the company to go down that road because it does nothing for the forestry industry.