Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government's plan to sell the rights to fell and sell trees in State-owned forests puts at risk 100 years of public forestry in the country. The industry is worth €2.2 billion per year. It was worth €286 million per year in exports in 2011 and it employs 12,000 people. Despite its being an Irish success story, there appears to be a drive and determination to sell off a vital public resource that is generating income for the State.

Has an economic impact assessment been done of the sell-off of Coillte trees? If not, why not? The international experience is that where privatisation has occurred in countries like New Zealand and states in Australia the impact has been very negative for the public and has resulted in more private ownership, less focus on public interest and a lack of accountability in developing their public forestry.

It is a disaster, not just for this generation of Irish citizens but for future generations, that we would sell off the harvesting rights of our trees. It makes us an outlier in Europe. Not even in the darkest days of Thatcher's Britain was she able to sell off that country's forests yet the Government proposal is to accept the troika agreement and not challenge it. There is no legal obligation on this country to sell off the harvesting rights of our forests. What economic assessment has been done on jobs, the economy and tourism? I urge the Minister to take this opportunity to say he will reconsider and reject this ludicrous proposal.

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