Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach sa Teach. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis. I have not had the opportunity to formally congratulate him on his appointment. I received correspondence from the Department of agriculture yesterday indicating that neither the Minister for agriculture, nor the three Ministers of State, were available to take this Commencement matter, so I appreciate the Minister of State being here.An article by Caroline O'Doherty in the Irish Independent on 22 March this year reported that Coillte had very quietly folded its dedicated biodiversity division, Coillte Nature. At the time, Coillte stated that it would subsume and embed its biodiversity duty across the organisation. It was also claimed that staff and all relevant stakeholders had been informed of the decision in January, yet the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, wrote to the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, in March asking what was happening at Coillte Nature. The Minister of State replied a few days later saying that he had raised the issue with Coillte. I am not sure if Coillte is duty bound to inform the Ministers, but that was the response.

Coillte Nature was established as a not-for-profit section of Coillte Teoranta and was dedicated to the restoration, regeneration and rehabilitation of nature across Ireland. Its work included the Dublin Mountains makeover project, a hugely important stakeholder project that has provided great benefits to the communities there. There was also regeneration of the midlands' native woodlands and wild western peatlands in the north west.

In 2024, Coillte signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, in my presence and that of the then Minister of State, Pippa Hackett, at last year's National Ploughing Championships. The memorandum undertook to work collaboratively on the restoration of Coillte lands of strategic value for nature or where they were of a poor yield class. It focused particularly on sites such as the Slieve Bloom Mountains that could benefit threatened hen harrier populations. On announcing the decision, Coillte stated that it had decided to absorb the work of Coillte Nature into its existing and larger Coillte Forest organisational structure and that this reorganisation would enable Coillte to significantly improve its delivery on climate and nature restoration projects. It went on to say the decision was in line with the strategic vision published in 2022. On page six of that document, however, Coillte Nature is given an explicit role in nature restoration work, which I would have assumed is a hugely important part of its work. Coillte is also one of the State's largest landowners, responsible for 140,000 ha of land, or 7% of the country's land area.

This was a very strange and quiet deletion from the company's business plan and strategy. What is happening to staff in this instance? Have there been any redundancies? Were all relevant Ministers informed? I am conscious that there was an interregnum between the outgoing Government and the formation of the new one. Could Coillte not have waited until a new Government was formed to engage with relevant Ministers? At a time when we are in the depths of a biodiversity crisis, is this a bad business management plan by Coillte? How will it impact on the business model and the nature trust? That is a lot of questions and, as the previous speaker noted, our committees are not yet up and running, so there is not an opportunity to engage directly with Coillte on this or to ask what the rationale was behind this decision.

In light of the Gresham House deal and the really poor communication around it, there are significant concerns among stakeholders in the forestry sector. Was the board informed of this decision? Is it not a signal that Coillte is not committed to nature restoration? That is the question, given that this week we have embarked with the stakeholders on engagement on a national nature restoration plan. That is a lot of questions and I appreciate that the Minister of State is here on behalf of the Minister for agriculture, but it is important that we get answers on this.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Noonan for raising this important matter relating to Coillte's organisational structure, which I will address on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Heydon. I welcome the opportunity to answer the questions the Senator raised and to update the House on recent developments.

Coillte was set up as a commercial State body under the Forestry Act 1988 and, therefore, is independent of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in respect of operational matters, as specified under the Act. As one of the shareholders of Coillte, however, the Minister has responsibility for oversight of the company in accordance with the Act. He also has expectations regarding Coillte's engagement in climate action, biodiversity and nature rehabilitation, all of which complement the company's contributions to the forest and wood product industry. These expectations are set out in the shareholders' letters of expectation. In this context, the Department supports Coillte's work to develop projects of scale to create, restore, regenerate and rehabilitate biodiverse habitats across Ireland.

The Minister acknowledges the work carried out by Coillte as part of its Coillte Nature brand since its establishment in 2019. Its initiatives include contributing to restoring biodiversity at The Raven nature reserve in Wexford, enhancing biodiversity in alluvial woodlands in Sligo and continuing to transform 900 ha of commercial plantations for people and nature in the Wicklow Mountains. In addition, Coillte provides woodland management services to the Nature Trust. The company has assured the Department it is committed to continuing this work, as well as all other projects that were set up under the Coillte Nature brand. The decision to absorb the work of Coillte Nature into Coillte's main forestry division is an organisational matter and this reorganisation will enable a more integrated approach to all nature and biodiversity projects.

Coillte informed the Department of this decision at a meeting in February. It explained that the need for a separate nature unit has been superseded by Coillte's overall strategic vision for the forest estate announced in 2022. This seeks to derive multiple benefits from State forests, bring more focus to climate action and set ambitious new targets on biodiversity and recreation while continuing to deliver for the forest and wood product industry. As part of its strategy, Coillte is planning to redesign 30,000 ha of peatland forest for climate and ecological benefits and to enhance and restore biodiversity, by increasing the area of the estate managed primarily for nature from 20% to 30% by the end of 2025 and to 50% in the long term. The objectives set out in Coillte's strategic vision for its forest estate are very much aligned with our shared national vision for trees and forests in Ireland by 2050 and our national forest strategy to 2030. Therefore, Coillte is confident that its decision to absorb the work of Coillte Nature into its main forest division will not interrupt any of Coillte Nature's ongoing projects and that its reorganisation will not impact negatively on the objectives set out in Coillte's strategic vision and strategy for its forest estate.

Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)
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In his comprehensive response, the Minister of State referred to the 2022 strategic vision. However, in that strategic vision, Coillte Nature has a very specific role, but that is now being deleted. That is the question I have. It is frustrating for us all that the committees are not up and running because we cannot ask these questions directly of Coillte. It is important that we get answers on this. I mentioned the Gresham House debacle. We would have expected Coillte to have improved on its communications with all stakeholders and the general public, in light of a decision like this. It appears that it is removing a very specific part of its function, the not-for-profit Coillte Nature, which had a very dedicated team working on nature restoration. That does not spell a very good commitment towards nature restoration. I appreciate the answer given by the Department but as the Minister is a stakeholder with responsibility for and oversight of the company, it is important that he take up the matter with Coillte as a matter of urgency.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I note the concerns the Senator has raised but, as stated, the Minister is committed to addressing the issues that are within his remit in accordance with the provisions set out in the Forestry Act 1988. The most important part of the response from Coillte is that the reorganisation will allow a more integrated approach to all nature and biodiversity projects. As stated, Coillte has said there will be no diminution of the focus on that area, which is, of course, very important. I studied geography myself and understand the issues at hand here, but the more integrated approach in the wider division will ensure an holistic view. It is certainly not the intention that there would be any less focus on biodiversity and nature.