Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is a retrograde step to sell Coillte lands or forestry to private investors. Inevitably, those investors will opt for the more lucrative side of Coillte's operations. The Minister is effectively giving away the goose that lays the golden egg. It is a mistake and the Government should reconsider it. The Government should exploit the resources, be they commercial timber or otherwise, for the benefit of the Irish people. I still cannot get an answer from anybody about what will happen the mineral rights. There are mineral rights, as we were told by the Coillte representatives when they appeared before a committee recently. If somebody takes a lease on the land and holds it for a period of years, what happens after they harvest the crop? Does it revert straight away or does it remain in the ownership of the privateers until the end of the lease?

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