Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

First, the idea we might be required to dispose of State assets because the troika tells us to do so makes the whole matter obscene and outrageous. That we might sell off our State forestry - our national heritage - to pay off the debts of gamblers is nothing short of obscene. The Government is not specifically required to sell off Coillte. It could find this money elsewhere by taxing the wealthy or those earning over €100,000. There are many other options but selling off the State forestry is an outrage.

Instead, this is an area in which we should be investing, expanding and developing to create employment. The Minister knows, as well as anyone who knows about forestry, jobs can be created just by planting more trees. Doing so would also create a sink for carbon which helps tackle climate change. It would also have a knock-on effect for other industries, services and rural areas. It is absolute madness to divest ourselves of State forestry to speculators such as Helvetica Wealth. They see our public forestry as nothing more than an opportunity to turn a quick buck, not giving a damn about public access, future investment, employment and the State's best interests.

The Minister must abandon these plans and we must have a serious discussion with all stakeholders about how we can develop our forestry to the benefit of all citizens and create much badly needed jobs.

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