Ms Imelda Hurley:

Deputy Penrose asked about the financial return that the business is experiencing. In 2018, the cash yield was 4.6%.

As Ms Gray has mentioned, in 2019, and more so in 2020, we are seeing and will see a softening of market conditions across Europe. The business is experiencing the uncertainty of Brexit because the UK is the biggest market for Irish timber. The UK is the second largest importer of timber in the world and any uncertainty in that market has a knock-on effect on us. The Medite Smartply business is performing well. The two facilities produce MDF and OSB which are very important in the construction industry. It is important to continue to invest in that business to ensure that we are innovative and that the business is able to operate on a very efficient basis. Coillte has 800 employees but we also have 1,200 subcontractors who work more or less full time in the industry. As an industry it employs 12,000 people and is worth €2.3 billion. An important statistic going forward is that, as a result of the plantings of the past 20 years, the industry is expected to double in size over the next ten to 15 years. It will, therefore, become even more important.

The land we have is approximately 7% of the landbank of Ireland. Of that, 20% is directly managed for biodiversity purposes and that is one of the social dividends delivered to the State. We have optimised the balance in terms of forestry. Being new to the industry, I have asked a lot of questions in the past month and I have wanted to learn about the business from the moment I became aware of the Coillte opportunity. Our overall forestry sequesters approximately 50 million tonnes of carbon as a carbon store. As a carbon sink, on an annual basis approximately 70% of carbon emissions in Ireland are sequestered based on the ongoing growth of trees. That is part of the social dividend that we deliver.

Coillte Nature is a new initiative launched this year and it considers how we make a further contribution to forestry in Ireland and to improving biodiversity. It will feature several initiatives, one of which is a memorandum of understanding with Bord na Móna for 1,500 ha of bogland where we will plant a specific type of tree that we are nurturing. That will be a two-year project. These are many of the positive things that Coillte is doing but I am aware that at times there is negativity about forestry. We have a more agricultural than forestry culture. I grew up on a dairy farm and have engaged with my family since I took this role. We need to think about the role that forestry can play in helping to keep farmers on the land rather than have to leave it. There is much to do but with time and the right enablers, much can be done.