Written answers

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Forestry Sector

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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235. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there has been any review of the Irish Forestry Unit Trust and its charity status; the way this charity status relates to Coillte; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35361/14]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Forestry Unit Trust ( IForUT ) is a private entity. The registration of an entity as a charity does not fall within the remit of my Department. Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as the relationship between Coillte and the Irish Forestry Unit Trust (IForUT) , are the responsibility of the company.

I am advised that IForUT is a unit trust that was established in 1994 by AIB, Irish Life and Coillte to provide an investment vehicle to enable Irish pension funds and other Irish qualifying investors such as charities to invest in forestry. When the unit trust was first established in 1994, it consolidated the forestry investments of Irish Life Investment Managers and AIB Investment Managers with Coillte introducing semi-mature forests to ensure a balanced portfolio and to provide liquidity to the fund to cover operating costs. The transfer by Coillte involved only the right to harvest timber from one rotation of the forest crop; the underlying land was not sold and Coillte continues to manage and maintain the forests transferred on behalf of IForUT. Since 1994 , Coillte has gradually reduced its unit holdings in the fund as the original purpose for establishing the fund has been fulfilled. Coillte is no longer a unit holder in IForUT.

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