Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the consideration being given to forest replanting at sites when harvesting rights may be sold as proposed by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13941/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Further to the Government’s decision that a concession for the harvesting rights to Coillte’s forests be considered for sale, the National Treasury Management Agency, via its NewERA Unit, has been actively engaged with Coillte, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and my Department to examine the financial and other implications of a potential transaction. Substantial work has been undertaken to date on the identification of the forestry assets involved, the determination of their value and the consideration of a number of issues associated with the proposed sale of the harvesting rights. I wish to stress that it is a concession for the harvesting rights which is being considered for sale. In order to preserve the forest estate, my Department’s long-standing policy is that replanting should take place following harvesting apart from exceptional circumstances. The replanting obligation is one of the issues that have been identified in relation to the possible harvesting rights concession. While the consideration process is at an advanced stage, no decision has been taken, as yet.