Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1782. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Coillte has any harvesting rights to the forests it will be managing for the private investment fund with which it is in negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63777/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1783. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason that the State forestry company, Coillte, is becoming a manager for private investment companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63778/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1784. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of times during the term of the Government that he or his Department officials met with Coillte in relation to the State company merging with investment institutions to re-engage in afforestation; the dates of those meetings; the participants; the agenda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63779/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1785. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the rules changed in order that Coillte can receive forestry grants or premiums either directly or indirectly through any joint venture with institutional investment funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63780/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1786. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he or his Department officials have engaged with the European Commission regarding the joint venture between Coillte and investment funds, as discussed during a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine in December 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63781/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1787. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there are any employees of Coillte that are directly or indirectly involved in an organisation (details supplied) in either a personal or professional capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63782/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1788. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when his attention was drawn to the discussions between Coillte and an organisation (details supplied) regarding a proposed joint venture; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63783/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1789. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any of his officials, including the assistant secretary, met with Coillte to discuss any potential joint venture between Coillte and an organisation (details supplied) before appearing before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine on 29 January 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63784/22]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1791. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his officials participated in discussions (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63788/22]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1792. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Coillte appointed legal advisors to assist in the proposed new arrangement with a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63789/22]

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1795. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the proposed new joint venture between Coillte and institutional investment companies will be entitled to avail of the ash dieback reconstitution and underplanting scheme, RUS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63793/22]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1800. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if it is a policy within his Department to restore farmer confidence in afforestation or to increase afforestation levels through joint ventures between the State’s forestry company and large-scale institutional investment funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63811/22]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1801. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he instructed Coillte to become involved in afforestation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63812/22]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1802. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any proposed arrangement between Coillte and a company (details supplied) requires ministerial approval or approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission or any other regulatory body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63813/22]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1803. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the attention of the director of forestry was drawn to the proposed new arrangement between Coillte and a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63814/22]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1807. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has been informed as to which party initiated the discussions between Coillte and a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63870/22]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1808. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on any proposed joint venture with the State forestry company Coillte and UK based investment funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63871/22]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1809. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of times that his officials have met with Coillte regarding any proposed new arrangement with a company (details supplied); when these meetings took place; the persons who attended the meetings; if minutes of the meetings were taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63872/22]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1816. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the terms of the agreement between Coillte and an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63972/22]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1817. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the attention of the Secretary General of his Department was drawn to the discussions between Coillte and an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63973/22]

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1842. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on reports that approximately 12,000 ha of forestry land will be sold to a UK-based firm; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1414/23]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1851. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on concerns and proposals raised by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1766/23]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1857. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if land acquired arising from the joint venture between Coillte and an organisation (details supplied) will be owned by the semi-state body; the ownership of any associated harvesting rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1959/23]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1858. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when his attention and that of his Department was first drawn to the joint venture between Coillte and an organisation (details supplied); his Department’s interactions with Coillte in this regard; if he will instruct Coillte to stall the venture until a full public engagement on the matter is facilitated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1972/23]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1859. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the powers that he has to stall the joint venture between Coillte and an organisation (details supplied); if he will be using those powers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1973/23]

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1878. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has concerns that the €200 million arrangement between an organisation (details supplied) and Coillte will push up land prices, with the potential to adversely impact the ability of private foresters to compete in the market and will put the cost of land beyond the reach of farmers generally; if his attention has been drawn to reports that in countries such as Scotland, where similar arrangements are in place, land prices have increased substantially; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2135/23]

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1879. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when his attention was first drawn to the agreement between Coillte and an organisation (details supplied); if he engaged with Coillte when his attention was drawn to the arrangement; the outcome of any such meeting; if he engaged with farmers or farmers’ organisations on the arrangement upon being informed of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2136/23]

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1880. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has any concerns that the availability of forest premia to private small-scale foresters will become diminished as a result of their availability to large scale funds such as an organisation (details supplied) upon the arrangement between Coillte and said organisation; his views on whether the forest grant scheme should focus on farmers and private Irish forestry owners; if he has given consideration to amending the forestry grant scheme to exclude or reduce the incentive for funds such as the organisation concerned, to put land out of the reach of such operators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2137/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1782 to 1789, inclusive, 1791, 1792, 1795, 1800 to 1803, inclusive, 1807 to 1809, inclusive, 1816, 1817, 1842, 1851, 1857 to 1859, inclusive, and 1878 to 1880, inclusive, together.

Coillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and is operationally independent from the Minister and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I am, therefore, not in position to comment on any operational issues relating to the establishment of the new investment fund. The Department will forward these queries to Coillte for direct response to the Deputies concerned.

On the policy issues raised, the primary aim of the proposed new Forestry Programme is to enable Ireland to use its potential for afforestation to help meet its national emission reduction and biodiversity obligations while, at the same time, supporting the forestry sector and farm families. This is why the Government have committed €1.3 billion to this Programme, with substantially higher payments for farmers. This is biggest and best-funded Forestry Programme ever introduced by any Government here, and it has been designed to ensure that farmers will be its primary beneficiaries.

The afforestation targets set out in both the Programme and the Climate Action Plan are ambitious and will require the input of all stakeholders. It is Government policy that Coillte, as the State forestry company, should play its part too by re-engaging with afforestation and they have responded to this in their new Forestry Vision and Strategy. They have indicated that they will support the delivery of Ireland's afforestation targets through a suite of initiatives which will contribute 100,000 hectares by 2050. As the company is precluded following a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union from directly receiving premiums, they have indicated that some of the implementation of their strategy will be collaboration with third parties in projects.

Farmers, being our biggest cohort of landowners, will have the most opportunity to benefit from the new Forestry Programme and will receive 33% more premium payments than any other landowner under the Programme. There is also a role for Coillte and for non-farmers in helping to achieve our ambitious afforestation targets, and the new Forestry Programme will provide for this too. This will include support for the creation of new forests in Ireland through the harnessing of funding and assets from private and public sources, including afforestation grants and premiums, to provide long term social returns for all stakeholders. In other words, where land is in private ownership, whether farmer or non-farmer, it will be eligible for grants and premiums under the new Programme, as is currently the case under the existing programme.

Coillte advised the Department of its proposed approach to increased afforestation during the development of their new Forestry Strategic Vision, which was launched on 21st April 2022. A Shareholder Letter of Expectation issued to Coillte on 2^nd June 2022 which included a direction to the Company to “develop initiatives to support and realise the planting of such forests to a meaningful scale in the years ahead, whether as part of their core business or as participants in a subsidiary or partnership enterprise”. Prior to this there was ongoing contact between Coillte and the Ministers in the Department as well as our officials dating back to 2021 as they updated on the development of their Strategy. While the detail of an Investment Fund was not finalised or discussed in detail, Coillte indicated that it would be an enabler of new afforestation through the Coillte Nature initiative for planting native woodlands and through their involvement in Afforestation Funds focussed on commercial forestry.

As I have previously outlined, the question of consent or approval by the shareholders does not arise in relation to Coillte’s role in providing services to the Fund. It is an operational matter for Coillte and they were under no obligation to seek consent. My understanding is that the Fund became operational on 18 December 2022. I was informed that week of some the details of the proposals through correspondence from Coillte and that a public announcement would be made soon confirming the establishing Fund. This announcement was made on 8 January.

One of the other initiatives which Coillte are pursuing is the planting of native woodlands through their involvement in Nature Partners’ CLG. This is a non-commercial entity, which aims to increase the percentage of land under native woodlands. Coillte is providing management services and land acquisition services to the company but the company may procure these services other than from Coillte. I have asked Coillte to inform the interested Deputies directly on the plans for Coillte Nature CLG.

In conclusion, I am mindful of the ambitious targets we have signed up to in terms of afforestation. Both I and Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has overall responsibility for the sector, want farmers to be the biggest beneficiaries of what we propose to do here. They get the longest premiums and benefit from complementary BISS supports in a way that institutional investors will not. Our new programme is the biggest and best-funded under any Government and our focus is now is on securing EU state aid approval as quickly as possible in order to introduce the Programme as quickly as possible.