Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I wish to be absolutely clear on a number of issues. No one is considering selling Coillte land and that is off the table. When I asked Deloitte to consider the matter, I stipulated that there should be no consideration of the sale of Coillte lands. I appeal to people to be responsible on the issue if and when we must discuss the matter at some stage in future.

It is true to say that the forests which Coillte manage are also valuable assets. One may argue about the valuation of a crop of 390,000 ha of woodland but the idea considered in the Deloitte report was that a crop, or asset, could be sold through harvesting rights for the next 20 or 50 years, depending on how much value we want. At the end of the process, the land would revert to the State, with a requirement in place for re-afforestation and replanting. Essentially, the asset of the forests and land would come back to the State at some time in future.

That is the kind of option we are considering but I stress that no decision has been made on the sale of Coillte as a company or in terms of forest assets. Any sale will take account of the issues raised by Deputy Wallace with regard to ensuring public access to recreational land and so on. There is a significant portion of Coillte land that is not accessed by anyone and we are considering all the options now, including valuations. We will make some decisions as a Government in the not too distant future.

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