Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are moving towards a situation where the Government is using the cloak of the recession and the troika to attempt to sell off the harvesting rights to our woodlands. I commend the Technical Group on bringing forward this motion.

The decision to sell off harvesting rights will have an immediate effect in Laois and Offaly, an effect that will be felt long into the future. I know Minister Coveney is concerned about rural jobs, but I would like to point out that the sawmills in Coolrain and Mountrath depend almost entirely on the supply of wood from the forests in the Slieve Bloom mountains, Togher, Cullenagh and similar places. These sawmills are economically sound, because the timber for them only needs to be hauled a short distance. This is important in the context of the environment and their carbon footprint. The industry in this area is sustainable because the wood can be hauled to the mills cheaply. The industry provides jobs locally and because the raw material only has to travel a short distance, costs are kept to a minimum.

These businesses in Mountrath, Coolrain and similar places will not survive if they are made uncompetitive. These sawmills are part of the national sawmills group and they operate on a very tight margin. They cannot survive if they are made uncompetitive. Therefore, we need to keep these woodlands and their harvesting rights in the ownership of Coillte. If our woodland is sold off to an international company, we will not have control over it. This will threaten local economies and local jobs. I cannot stress enough the importance of these jobs for counties like Laois and Offaly and for rural areas where there are few, if any, opportunities for other types of employment.

The Bacon report clearly shows that the sale of harvesting rights will cost the State €1.3 billion. There are a number of outstanding questions that need to be answered in this regard. How much Coillte land has already been sold and who has bought it? The Government amendment refers to investors and consultations with interested investors. Who are they? Will Coillte remain commercially viable if it sells its harvesting rights? This is the key question. If it sells these rights, the State will no longer receive the dividend it needs. I believe this decision is wrong and I hope it does not happen. I beg the Government to retain Coillte and its woodlands in semi-State ownership.

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