Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It was agreed in the programme for Government that Ireland's future forestry policy would be the subject of a mid-term review this year. Such a review is necessary because outside interests like vulture funds are putting pressure on family farms by buying land in local areas at prices that local people cannot afford. It was announced last week that a vulture fund from Helsinki is buying up land in this country worth €110 million with the blessing of the European Investment Bank. Will the Government undertake this review in the interests of helping and saving family farms, or is it going to allow the land of Ireland to be up for sale, just as it has done with buildings and properties around the country?

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