Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy knows, state aid rules are a European matter, but we are examining the state aid rules to see what can and cannot be done. It is 20 years since the particular court judgment was handed down. The State is, and will be, planting trees on public land for all sorts of purposes. We need trees for timber to build all those houses we need. We also need trees to act as a carbon sink, for biodiversity and leisure. We need different types of tress for different purposes. The mainstay of our forestry programme will be Irish farmers choosing to plant trees and more trees. We are going to incentivise them to do so.

To pick up on something the Deputy said, there is no sell-off when it comes to the Irish strategic forest fund. No public land will be privatised. This is a fund part-owned by the State through the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, which is a minority investor in the fund, that will buy private land. It is not the case that there is any sell-off here. That is just incorrect.

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