A bitter dispute over the management of a forestry plantation in south Tipperary has resulted in landowner Geraldine Corcoran claiming that Coillte had effectively locked her out of her land.
She has also accused the semi-state body of poor management of her plantation, and of an absence of transparency around the revenue from thinning operations in her forest.
However, Coillte rejected the assertions regarding the plantation management and insisted that the landowner had a key to locks on the gates of the property at all times.
However, it confirmed that it recently sent Corcoran a key to the farm gate locks. This key was sent by registered post.
The dispute centres on the management of 21ha of forestry at Tinnock, Ballingarry, Co Tipperary by Coillte. The farm is owned by Corcoran who inherited it from her mother.
Eight hectares of the property were planted in 1996, with the remaining 13ha planted in 2001, the same year that Corcoran signed a partnership agreement with Coillte to manage the plantation.
However, by 2019 relations between the parties had deteriorated, with Corcoran expressing dissatisfaction with a number of decisions relating to the plantation.
The differences resulted in Corcoran joining with a group of other Coillte partners to voice their concerns at a joint Oireachtas agriculture committee meeting in the summer of 2023.
For the last seven years Corcoran has been involved in an ongoing legal battle with Coillte regarding the Ballingarry plantation, which culminated in the recent dispute over access to the farm.
Corcoran admitted to changing the locks on the gates to the farm earlier this year, but insisted that this was not done to “lock Coillte out”.
“I was forced to put a [new] lock on the gate because I wanted to get a meeting with Coillte on site,” she said.
Unhappy
Corcoran was not happy the partnership for a number of reasons:
These allegations were put to Coillte but they did not respond to them individually.
However, a spokesperson did issue a statement.
“Coillte has engaged extensively with Ms Corcoran and her representatives on many occasions over the last seven years, including facilitation, to try to reach a resolution, however – regrettably – the matter continues to be in legal dispute,” it said.
“The parties participated in a confidential process which remains subject to confidentiality and therefore we are not in a position to comment,” it added.
“Coillte manages its forests to the highest standards, including its farm partnerships, for the best commercial return for both parties and refutes any suggestion that this farm partnership has been poorly managed.
“We remain fully committed to this farm partnership, and we will continue to actively engage to try to have the matter resolved.”
In relation to the dispute over the gate locks and keys, the spokesperson said: “Coillte can confirm that Ms Corcoran has a key to the property.”
The statement on the key was communicated to the Irish Farmers Journal on June 30. On the same day, Corcoran received a key by registered letter from Coillte.
This was a key to the lock Coillte had placed on the gate after breaking Corcoran’s lock.
Corcoran had been waiting for a key since February.
Coillte has been consistent in its insistence that it has made every effort to meet with Corcoran and address her concerns.
In a letter to former minister of state Michael Healy-Rae regarding Corcoran’s complaints, Coillte pointed out that it had engaged in “extensive and exhaustive correspondence and numerous interactions with her [Corcoran] and a number of her third-party representatives”.
Coillte claimed that it had attempted to solve the differences between the parties through arbitration proceedings and a facilitation process, but both of these initiatives failed.
“To date, all proposals have been rejected by the farm partner [Corcoran],” Coillte claimed in its correspondence with Healy-Rae.
Breakdown in trust
In response, Corcoran said there has been a complete breakdown of trust between the partners. She claimed that an initial Coillte offer to purchase the land – which was made as part of the early facilitation process – was well below what she believed was the real market value of the farm and the trees. This compounded the distrust between the parties, Corcoran said.
Coillte was asked if it made an offer to purchase Corcoran’s share of the tree stock on the lands at Ballingarry, as well as the property itself, but the company did not respond specifically to the question.
Corcoran remains determined to protect her interests and has not ruled out further legal action.
“I was never really in a partnership with Coillte. They never really recognised me as a partner. It was always Coillte’s way or no way,” she said.
For its part, Coillte is equally adamant that it will continue with the partnership up until the forecast clearfell date of 2036.
In its letter to former minister Healy-Rae last March Coillte stated that it had made “a considerable investment” in the farm partnership over the last 25 years.
“In the absence of an agreement [with Corcoran], Coillte remains committed to continue to provide services under the Farm Partnership Agreement so that the forest is well managed until final clear-fell of the crop,” it stated.
A 2019 commercial report by Coillte put potential earnings for Corcoran from the partnership at €335,847 for the 17-year period from the date of the report’s publication up to the forecast clear-fell date.
However, Corcoran has no faith left in the partnership or Coillte’s projections.
“The trust is gone,” she said.
SHARING OPTIONS