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

Under the troika programme, the Minister committed to selling the Coillte harvesting rights. Is that true? If he now says he is considering this, does this mean he is backtracking on that commitment or that there is a possibility of changing the agreement with the troika? The lack of information and transparency around the proposed or considered sale of the harvesting rights stinks to high heaven. There is no information on the value of the harvesting rights. In recent years some €108 million worth of forestry has been sold, most of which we believe has been sold to banks. Why was that forestry sold and to whom was it sold? What conditions surrounded these sales in maintaining the sustainability of Irish forestry?

The Glennon sawmills indicated that 1.5 million cu. m of forest were cut down last year, although the forest strategy stated sustainable forestry would be based on a maximum of 1 million cu. m and guaranteed replanting of 25,000 ha. We cannot obtain information on how many hectares have been replanted, but I understand only 5,000 acres have. This suggests we are already in a situation where there is deforestation or unsustainable forestry production. Can we have the facts? Where are the annual reports of the forest service? What happened to the review of Irish forestry initiated by the previous Government and abandoned by the current Government? What valuations are being made of harvesting rights? Without this information and proper public consultation - we do not even know what the Minister is considering selling - we cannot work out whether the sale of harvesting rights represents asset stripping.

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