Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said when I introduced the Forestry Bill 2013 to Members on Second Stage in the Dáil and as I explained on Committee Stage, the purpose of the Bill is to reform and update the legislative framework for forestry. It is intended to support the development of a modern forest sector which operates in accordance with good forest practice and with a view to protection of the environment. The Bill is about forestry and good forest practice. I emphasise that it is not about Coillte. Its provisions are applicable to both public and private forest owners.

The Government decided in June 2013 that an analysis be undertaken of a merger of Coillte and Bord na Móna. It decided on 24 June 2014, on the basis of an in-depth analysis undertaken by NewERA and the relevant Departments with an input from both companies, that both companies should work towards a partial merger of their businesses, focusing on the areas in which there was an overlap between the two companies. A joint venture between the two companies will, accordingly, be formed to manage their common business activities in biomass, wind energy, shared services, and recreation and tourism. My colleagues, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, considered the analysis and jointly concluded that a partial merger approach to ensure synergy was the best approach at the time and this approach was subsequently agreed to by the Government.

A restructuring of Coillte, overseen by NewERA and the relevant stakeholder Departments, also formed part of the Government's decision in June 2013 and I understand proposals in that regard are being worked on. While preliminary work has commenced on implementation of the recent decision on the formation of a joint venture between Coillte and Bord na Mona in the areas mentioned, pending its completion and the outcome of the restructuring of the company, it is premature to state there is a need to review the 1988 Act to redefine Coillte's objectives and operations. Consequently, I do not agree to the amendment.