Ms Vivienne Jupp:

I shall answer the question on the farm partnerships because that is the longer question. Coillte has historical agreements with individual farmers. It has a portfolio of over 600 farm partnerships across the country and these are generally of a very long-term nature, as the Deputy can imagine – probably 40 years. In return for planting the trees and managing the forest, we get part ownership of the trees grown on the land. The vast majority of the partnerships are working well. I am aware that in a small number of cases, farm partners have raised issues, such as engagement with Coillte and the transparency of information. In recent years, Coillte has worked really hard to make improvements where a small number of farm partners have questioned how things are being done. Coillte has put a dedicated team in place to manage the farm partnership portfolio, and the team continues to work to address all concerns and issues raised through active engagement with individual farm partners.

I understand that there is a very small number of people who are dissatisfied with the whole process. I assure the Senator that Coillte is more than happy to engage directly with farm partners to discuss their concerns and work with them to reach a mutually acceptable solution or resolution. We are putting in place dedicated people to respond to queries and we are trying to engage more with and be more transparent with the individual farm partners. However, the vast majority of the partnerships are working exceedingly well and people are happy with the process.