Labour and Fine Gael oppose privatisation of Coillte forests

Until recently, when privatisation of State companies was discussed in Ireland, attention focused mainly on organisations such as ESB, VHI, Bord na Mona, An Post and Bord Gáis. Companies such as Coillte - the Irish Forestry Board - have avoided the spotlight, but that has changed.

The McCarthy Report, or An Bord Snip Nua, published in 2009 suggested exploring a number of 'avenues which could provide once-off receipts for the Exchequer', including a review of 'the operations of Coillte with a view to realising optimal return through rationalisation, asset disposal and, possibly, privatisation'.

results

Irish governments have been slow to sell off State companies - with good reason. The results to date of decisions to privatise companies such as Telecom Eireann, the Irish Sugar Company and Aer Lingus have been far from impressive.

The privatisation of Coillte has caused little debate but that too may be about to change. Sean Sherlock, Labour Party spokesperson for agriculture and food, said last week: ''Coillte is one of the biggest landowners in the State and the notion that we could sell off all of this land, lock stock and barrel, should not be countenanced.''

The Cork deputy asked: ''Do we really want to end up in a situation where this for-profit company could turn around and do whatever it feels like with a natural resource that rightly belongs to the Irish people, including many of our forests, rivers and lakes?''

And while there may be differences between the possible future coalition government partners, Fine Gael and Labour, on a number of economic and social issues, both parties share the same views on the privatisation of Coillte.

Andrew Doyle, the Fine Gael spokesperson for agriculture, food and horticulture, said: ''Our vital national resources are not up for sale. National resources, like forestry, agriculture and marine, are held in trust for all the people of Ireland. Ministers are stewards of these resources and must return them to the people with benefits after their term in office. That includes the forests of Ireland.''

benefits

Both spokespersons illustrated some of the benefits of State ownership. Sean Sherlock said: ''We should be looking at ways that we can use these resources to a greater extent for the benefit and enjoyment of local communities, and to identify ways in which we could exploit them as attractions for visitors from home and abroad.''

Andrew Doyle maintained that 'forestry is an essential part of a national land use plan which balances carbon used in farming and carbon taken up by forestry and uplands'. He also linked the future of Bord na Mona with Coillte in a surprise announcement for those not familiar with his party's policy. ''The Fine Gael NewERA plan will invest in a combined Coillte and Bord na Mona to increase forestry planting and to create a biomass-for-energy industry,'' he said.

Surprisingly, privatisation has received little attention, in marked contrast to Britain. The decision by the coalition government there to initially sell off 15% of the forests managed by the Forestry Commission (FC) in England has met with huge opposition. The government plans to sell most of the remaining 85% of BC forests in England - the BC forests in Wales and Scotland are not part of the sell-off as they are under the control of their devolved assemblies.

The announcements by deputies Sherlock and Doyle provide a degree of certainty on the future status of Coillte. However, in an era when future government decisions will bear the strong imprint of the IMF and ECB, privatisation of a number of State companies is likely to take place.

opposition

A decision to sell off Coillte would meet with huge opposition, especially from a public who now make over 18 million visits to the company's forests and woodlands. Coillte has an open forest policy, which allows the public access to its forests.

As in England, the debate is likely to focus on forests and land under State ownership. In Ireland, the privatisation of Coillte's timber processing companies, such as Coillte Panel Products (comprising SmartPly Europe and Medite Europe Ltd) may be treated separately to its forests.

Over 10% or approximately 740,000ha of the land area of Ireland is now under forest. Approximately 55% is owned by the State - almost all by Coillte - and 45% is in private ownership. Over 60% of private forests are less than 20 years old and most of these plantations have been established by farmers.