Mr. Bill Stanley:

We communicate with the vast majority of our partners on a regular basis but in terms of sending out one blanket mailshot to all of the partners, it has been a period of time since we have done that. However, our partners have annual meetings. I know that has also been the subject of some discussion in this forum and in other places, and it has been the subject of some of the feedback we have got from our partners. We are committed to having annual meetings with all of our partners. In some cases where the level of activity is relatively low, we believe it is appropriate that those meetings take place by telephone and that they are documented. In our documentation of our annual meetings with our partners, there is an opportunity for the partner to raise issues of concern. We would accept that those meetings have been primarily operationally focused. Their focus has not been on commercial details. That is an active step we are taking to address that issue and to specifically address the issue of payments to partners.

To give members a sense of what the statement we are producing involves, the specific issue we are addressing is the fact that our partners have said to us that they have not been clear about what payments they are due in the future. From their financial planning perspective, that is a reasonable requirement. I would respectfully disagree with something Senator Mulherin said in that I believe these are partnerships.

They are not adversarial agreements and we are both on the same side. Coillte and the partners share the same objective, which is to maximise the returns from these crops in all cases.