Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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478. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proportion of expenditure that is invested in the public amenities of the various public parks managed by Coillte; if there are publically available strategic plans regarding the management of these resources and amenities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30904/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Coillte was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as the management of their forest estate, are the responsibility of the company.

The matter was raised with Coillte who advise that the company invests more than €2.6 million per annum in the recreation service it provides. This includes the management and maintenance of considerable infrastructure including 12 forest parks, 270 recreation sites and more than 3,000kms of waymarked trails, which are accessible by the public free of charge and I am advised that this cost is fully funded by Coillte.

I understand that the economic activity arising from use of state-owned facilities by visitors accrues to local and largely rural economies. The main beneficiaries are those businesses that provide services to support the visitors (for example local retailers, hire and guiding services) and not to the providers of this infrastructure.

Coillte further advise that the company, along with four of the other main public landowners, have developed an Outdoor Recreation Plan for Public Lands and Waters (ORP) to highlight the need to develop, manage and maintain infrastructure for public recreation. The ORP quantifies that €1.5 billion per annum of visitor spending accrues as a result of the provision of recreation infrastructure by public landowners. Coillte and the other public landowners will publish the ORP in the coming weeks.

The strategic plans for each of Coillte’s Business Area Units which detail recreational facilities and plans are located on their website at