Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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75. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the role he believes Coillte Teoranta should have in helping Ireland play its part in achieving targets for CO2 reduction following the Paris climate summit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21327/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Coillte is the national state forestry company, which was established in 1989, pursuant to the Forestry Act 1988, at which time the bulk of the State’s forest properties were vested in the company. Coillte has developed significantly in the intervening period and currently owns and manages 7% of the country’s land, some 440,000 hectares, the bulk of which is under forest, and it operates three business areas – Coillte Forest, Medite SmartPly and Coillte Enterprise. Each of the three businesses will have a strong role to play in climate change.

The Group’s core forestry business will play a role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. The company will continue its programme of reforestation following harvest, thereby contributing to carbon sequestration over the long term. It will also work with my Department in implementing a viable afforestation model. I note from the Coillte Annual Report for 2015 that the company continues to play a key leadership role in delivering renewable energy solutions to industry by providing long term, secure biomass fuel supply contracts to large energy users thorough regional biomass supply hubs. The company’s biomass sales business thereby contributes to decarbonising the Irish economy by providing a sustainable and natural substitute for fossil fuels. The company is also active in other renewable areas which will contribute to renewable energy targets with the company’s land solutions business on track to deliver electricity to over 300,000 homes by 2017.

Medite SmartPly, Coillte’s panels manufacturing business, as one of the largest users of power in the country, has an important responsibility to reduce its reliance on traditional energy sources. Wood-based panels as used in the built environment and elsewhere are an important carbon store in their own right.

Coillte advise that it will take a leadership position in shaping policy around the role forestry will play in climate change and will be at the forefront of global and European developments. An example of the company assuming a leadership role in this area was its hosting of the Climate Change and Irish Forestry Conference in Farmleigh House in Dublin earlier this year, on 29 February, 2016. The conference brought together representatives to address the risks and opportunities that climate change and its mitigation presents to the Irish forest sector.