Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter and convey the apologies of the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to the House. He is involved in European Union commitments.

The examination of the sale of Coillte does not have anything to do with a drive for privatisation, the influence of Margaret Thatcher or anything to do with ideology. The assets disposal programme is a requirement of the troika which is funding the State and the Government decided that a concession for the harvesting rights to Coillte's forests would be examined. Further to that Government decision the National Treasury Management Agency, through its NewERA Unit, has been actively engaged with Coillte, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in recent months to examine the financial and other implications of a potential transaction.

Substantial work has been undertaken to date on the identification of the forestry assets involved, the determination of their value and the consideration of a number of issues associated with the proposed sale of the harvesting rights. Some of the issues identified to date include public access to recreational land, the possible impact on the timber industry, environmental and social impacts and consequential implications for the company and levels of employment. These issues, and the measures, if necessary, to address them, require detailed consideration.

The Government is aware of the concerns expressed by a number of bodies and individuals regarding the proposed sale. Such bodies include the Timber Council of Ireland, the Coillte trade unions and environmental, sporting and recreational bodies. These concerns focus on the possible impact on the timber industry, employment levels, access to Coillte recreational forests and long-term consequences for the management of the forests, all of which form part of the ongoing consideration.

The Government is very much aware of the important contribution Coillte makes in regard to the supply of timber to the sawmills, in the provision of forest recreational activities and valuable tourism attractions and in the maintenance of the State's forest estate.

The comprehensive examination process carried out to date has included engagement with potential acquirers of harvesting rights when requested by them in accordance with the published Government protocol. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and NewERA have also met with interested stakeholders to discuss their position on the sale of the harvesting rights.

As part of that, representatives of the two Departments and NewERA met with the Coillte group of unions last Friday where they outlined the process involved and received the view of those unions and copies of the report commissioned on the unions' behalf by Peter Bacon. It was agreed that the Bacon report titled Assessment of the Consequences of the proposed Sale of Coillte's Timber Harvesting Rights - 10 January 2013 would be analysed and a further meeting would be held. NewERA also met with representatives of the Irish Timber Council on 4 July last year to discuss the implications of any sale of Coillte felling rights on the Irish saw-milling sector.

The input of the various bodies such as the joint press statement of the environmental and sporting bodies, the document by the Irish Timber Council outlining its views on the proposal, the Save our Forestsdocument published by IMPACT'S Coillte branch in November, and the Bacon report commissioned by IMPACT is appreciated as they make a valuable contribution to the consideration process.

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