Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 24 May 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Farm Partnerships with Coillte: Discussion

Ms Sin?ad King:

Yes, buy out the land. The other issue is the value of the land. I am not sure what the value of the land should be but Coillte has really undervalued the land. It is offering any of the farm partnerships it is buying out way lower than the value of the land. Coillte is either paying for the land or the trees; it is not paying for both. It is not giving farmers the correct amount for the land. Trust has completely broken down. We are expected to sign up to another agreement with Coillte, Gresham House or whoever. We do not have faith in any big institution like that now. Based on our 20 or 30 years of experience with Coillte, why would we?