Tnaiste says there is no privatization of public land after Coillte criticism The Irish Times

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Tnaiste Michel Martin has said there will be no privatization of public land following criticism of a proposed reforestation deal between Coillte and UK-based private investment fund Gresham House.

The deal would mean Coillte manages up to 12,000 hectares of forest in Ireland, while the investment fund receives state grants under the £1.3 billion National Forest Scheme.

Coillte will not sell any existing public forests to the fund, and no other public bodies will sell land to the fund, Martin said. Any land purchased by the fund will already be privately owned and no private landowner will be forced to sell land to the fund.

semi-state company

Mr Martin said the government does not run Coillte and it is a semi-state organisation.

Tnaiste was responding to Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns during Leaders’ Questions in the Dil on Thursday, who said Coillte would do all the work and private investors would reap all the rewards.

Cork South-West TD said news of the scheme sent shockwaves through rural Ireland.

There are fears that land prices will skyrocket as a result of this land grab by private investment, and those fears are well placed, she said.

We saw what happened with housing costs when vulture funds entered this market. Why should the impact on farmland be different? Environmental groups are also deeply concerned. The Irish Wildlife Trust called it a scandal. This would be devastating for our biodiversity.

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Independent TD Marian Harkin said forestry targets could be met if farmers were properly incentivized to plant trees.

We could achieve our forestry goals by proactively engaging with farmers, local communities and public authorities on certain state-owned lands, she said.

But instead we do what we’ve done time and time again, we engage with big investment funds, Irish and overseas, because it’s easier. We tick the box, we get there, but we ignore the impact on communities, the negative impact on farmers, ignoring the fact that the type of policy being pursued will fundamentally change settlement patterns in the west, north- west, the south west, parts of the Midlands and other parts of the country.

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State Pippa Hackett met with senior Coillte officials on Thursday.

The Department of Agriculture declined to answer questions about whether the proposed deal between Coillte and Gresham House had been discussed or what the outcome of such a discussion was. Coillte also did not respond to questions about it.

Afforestation objectives

The Department of Agriculture said Coillte briefed ministers on how it will contribute to the country’s reforestation targets and where that fits into the new $1.3 billion forestry programme.

Coillte outlined his intention for the Irish Strategic Forest Fund to plant an average of 700 hectares of new forest in each of the next five years.

He also explained how the total area of ​​new forest planted through the fund will provide around 3.5% of the 100,000 hectares of new forest that Coillte has pledged to create by 2050.

Of the state’s overall national goal of 450,000 hectares of new forest by 2050, the fund will plant less than 1 percent of that total.

Gresham House has been contacted for a statement by The Irish Times.

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