Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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The witnesses focused on land use policy in the past few minutes. In the context of designated land, it has been the case that an EU decision has completely decimated the capital value of land. That is completely and utterly unacceptable. We have argued here about the inflationary price of land. The witnesses say 12,000 ha is not going to have a significant impact. When there is an already vibrant market, one extra customer coming in to put another stick on the fire will add more heat. There is no point denying that. The witnesses would say it is not significant. If there is a young farmer or a farmer of any other age next door to land he is trying to buy to keep his unit viable into the future but that land ends up being bought by Gresham House, that will leave a sour taste. There is no way an individual farmer can compete with an investment company. We will have to be very careful in that regard and monitor it closely. In days gone by we had the Land Commission, which was able to regulate this and ensure there was fairness in the context of competition for land, but we no longer have that body. I accept it is a fully unregulated market now but it is something we will have to monitor. If a farmer wants to purchase some or all of a land parcel that is up for sale, there has to be recognition of that. I accept that Coillte is not responsible for the full inflation in the price of land at the moment but the reality is that prices are going up rapidly and an extra customer is going to impact on that. In the context of land use and dictating national policy, under the Constitution the owner of the land is entitled to get the maximum the market can return. Obviously, we have to try to work around that to make sure we can meet climate change targets and everything else but I ask Coillte to ensure that when a deal is being done, it will carry out a survey to see if there is a potential customer nearby, give proper recognition to that and make sure that potential purchaser is given a fair chance to buy the land at a reasonable price. Otherwise, as Deputy Browne stated, trust will be lost completely and a sour taste will be left in people's mouths.

Another matter that worries me greatly is the restoration of land. The witnesses referred to a significant quantity of land being taken out of Coillte's land bank. It plans to let some of it go into natural forest and to rewet some of it but replacing that will be extremely difficult. I do not know how we will meet the targets that have been set for land restoration. We should be clear that nothing is yet agreed in respect of land restoration. Countries other than Ireland will also have serious reservations in that regard. A significant percentage of the land in Sweden that is under forestry is peatland. That is also the case in Finland. The EU is promoting this restoration.

It is most definitely not a done deal at the moment. Common sense must prevail in that regard. It is something on which we as a committee will be focusing, as we have done previously. As that policy is formulated in Brussels, we will focus on it here. I thank the representatives from Coillte for coming in today. We have had an earnest discussion. The witnesses have heard clearly our concerns as regards Gresham House and the competition for land etc. We all want to see a thriving forestry industry here. As a committee, we have devoted an awful lot of time to forestry. This is just one part of the forestry strategy going forward. If Coillte gets an update on where it is as regards getting access to premiums, the committee would be very interested to hear about that. It might keep the secretariat informed of any updates on that because, obviously, that would change the landscape significantly. As I said, I thank the witnesses for coming in today. We have had a very worthwhile discussion. They have listened well to our concerns and worries as to how Coillte policy operates going forward to ensure fairness and that we meet our targets.

The next public meeting of the joint committee will be on Wednesday, 8 March at 5.30 p.m. The agenda will be the development of the sheep sector and the supply of creosote wood. There is an issue in that regard and an EU directive is coming. The committee will engage with representatives from Sheep Milk Ireland, the IFA and a few suppliers of stakes.