Results 3,821-3,840 of 10,790 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: The Minister is suggesting that the €10 million invested in this joint venture will not then be subject to the state aid rules, as opposed to were Coillte to invest in-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: Okay. State aid rules have been cited not as a reason but as the primary reason. That is what Coillte told us when its representatives appeared before the committee in December and that is what the party leader of the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, has said, namely, that this is down to EU state aid rules. I ask the Minister to be as concise as possible but what efforts have he and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: But the state aid rules are in place?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: In advance of that, what efforts did the Minister of State make to ensure that those state aid rules would allow Coillte to invest directly, as opposed to the need for these joint ventures?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: No, the state aid rules have been under review for some time. The Commission carried out a review of the state aid instruments for agriculture, forestry and rural areas and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine made a submission to that and got involved in the consultation process in 2021. The European Commission very helpfully published all of the submissions they received...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: I know that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: I am asking a specific question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: Okay, the Minister is either purposely missing the point or simply missing the point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: I am taking the Chair-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: Here is the issue. The new state aid rules are in place since 1 January. My question was on what the Minister had done proactively to try to ensure the state aid rules would address what Coillte had said was the reason it was engaging in this way and needed the private element to its funding, which related to the state aid rules. I pointed to a written record that shows the Department,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: I have a number of questions. I will ask them as quickly as possible and would appreciate quick answers. A new forestry programme was announced in November. Was Coillte in touch with the Department about the timeframe of when the announcement would be made and the details made public?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: That is good but it is not the answer to the question I asked. I asked if Coillte had discussions with the Department about when the announcement would be made.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: The answer was that there was no specific engagement with Coillte on this issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: The Minister can see the suspicions people have that it was so soon after that announcement when the final deal with Gresham House was signed off on. The timing of the Gresham House deal does not make sense otherwise, because it was just a week before the new state aid rules would come into place. Coillte has cited those rules as the reason it needed this private entity in the first place.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: Did the Minister and Minister of State not ask that question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: The Minister said this is not his favoured option. Would a good way to stop it not be to tell investors that we do not want them to invest in this fund, in case there are other State-owned bodies or banks that we have shares in that might be considering this, to stay away from it? We could tell them that it has universal opposition from environmentalists, farmers, local communities and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: The question I asked was whether Coillte has secured an obligation or opt-out clause if Gresham House does not pony up the full level of investment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: The Minister is the shareholder of Coillte.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: If the Minister met with SEEFA and many other farming organisations, such as the IFA, which the Minister mentioned he met, they would tell him that the thing that has caused more consternation has been the Department's failure to adequately compensate farmers for ash dieback. My question is not related to that but relates to whether or not, in this deal, Gresham House has secured protections...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Policy and Strategy: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Jan 2023)

Matt Carthy: Protections for the investors in respect of, for example, invasive diseases or anything else impacting on the forestry crop, such as natural disasters. Generally speaking, when investment funds enter negotiations, if they are dealing with people who are not up to them, they can be good at putting in clauses that ensure that they are protected from any potential loss as opposed to the people...