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WHILE PASCHAL DONOHOE may have attracted most of the political attention in Leinster House this week, another source of discord has taken root in the Dáil.
A plan for land to be bought by investors for forestry in a deal between Coillte and a British investment firm has garnered cross-party criticism, as well as backlash from environmentalists and the sector.
Here’s a breakdown explaining the deal, why it’s controversial, and what happens next.
The deal between Coillte and Gresham House involves the purchase of both planted and unplanted land from private landowners to increase forestry cover.
Coillte is a semi-state agency that manages around 440,000 hectares of land, while Gresham House is a UK asset management company with an office in Dublin.
The deal between the two involves a new Irish Strategic Forestry Fund that is seeking investors to secure €200 million for the purchase of land and planting of forestry.
The forestry operations are to be handled by Coillte, while the land the forestry is planted on would be owned by the Fund.
Coillte has been restricted from buying land for new forests for 20 years due to EU rules on state aid funding – prompting calls for Ireland to push for a change to the rules rather than “outsourcing” the purchase of land to investors.
An investment director in Gresham House’s forestry division wrote an op-ed for the Irish Independent defending the deal, saying that it is “not in the business of forcing anyone to sell their land”.
“We’re not, as has been mistakenly reported, engaging in any form of privatisation,” Joe O’Carroll wrote.
“We will buy land, at agreed market prices, from farmers and non-farmers who want to sell. Anyone who has worked in forestry knows it’s a long-term investment that needs expertise, patience, market knowledge and a commitment to doing things right,” he said.
We’ll focus on biodiversity across the forests we acquire or create, with a strong mix of broadleaf species that ensures the climate resilience of our forestry portfolio.”
However, environmentalists, politicians and sectoral stakeholders have all expressed discontent with the proposal for several reasons.
Why is it controversial?
The Irish Wildlife Trust has criticised the plan, with campaign officer Padraig Fogarty outlining that there is a fear any investor “will just want to get the cheapest land that’s available” with the tree species that produces the highest return.
That species, sitka spruce, is non-native to Ireland and has been the target of criticism due to concerns it leads to a “monoculture” environment, impacting the biodiversity of the area it inhabits.
“From an environmental point of view, what’s most important to us is what anyone does with the land,” Fogarty said.
“Our fear is that they’re just going to plaster it with more plantations of Sitka spruce.”
A 2020 Noteworthy investigation found that Ireland has one of the highest rates of plantation forestry in the EU and the highest share of forest area dominated by introduced tree species, with large plantations of mainly Sitka spruce - native to North America – making up just over half of our entire forest estate.
Politically, TDs from across the spectrum are also staunchly against the plan.
During the Dáil’s first sitting last week after the Christmas recess, many used some of their speaking time dedicated to giving statements on the Climate Action Plan to voice their dissatisfaction with the forestry move.
There were calls for Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to intervene, with Sinn Féin TD Matt McCarthy saying the minister should instruct Coillte to halt the plan and state categorically that it would not permit taxpayer money to be used to “facilitate” a “land grab”.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett called the move a “disgrace” while Rural Independent TD Carol Nolan said that “stakeholders need to be listened to” and asked the government to step in.
The issue surfaced at the weekend among ordinary citizens too at the final meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly on biodiversity loss, which convened to discuss sector-specific recommendations to put forward to the Oireachtas.
Members discussed a recommendation suggesting that “State-owned woodlands should be recognised and managed as a strategic long-term national asset for the benefit of the common good”.
Sinn Féin is bringing a motion to the Dáil this evening demanding that the government stop the plan.
In a statement, TD Matt Carthy TD said: “The Ministers for Agriculture and Public Expenditure are the shareholders, on behalf of the Irish people, of Coillte. They can, and they should, instruct Coillte to immediately stall this plan.”
He said the motion would address “the underlying issues that have led to the collapse of afforestation by directing government to publish a new forestry strategy as a matter of urgency and ensure that the new strategy prioritises afforestation undertaken by local communities, farmers, landowners and public bodies above investment management ventures”.
Though the government is unlikely to back the motion, it will not be the last time it will be forced to confront the issue in Leinster House.
Tomorrow, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity Pippa Hackett are due to appear before an Oireachtas committee.
The Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will quiz the ministers about the plan at 5.30pm in a meeting that will be available to view online.
And on Thursday, two and a half hours have been set aside in the Dáil for a debate on Ireland’s forestry strategy.
At the same time, a protest - organised by an alliance of groups including the Woodland League, Friends of the Irish Environment, Extinction Rebellion and People Before Profit – is planned outside the Dáil to call for the Gresham House plan to be halted.
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Reducing the cost of living would be a better method of dealing with this.
@Cookie: Well said Cookie, what is the point in mandating businesses to pay more for labour which Govt siphon off a portion in PRSI, USC and PAYE? This causes produce and services to increase so businesses can cover these costs this allowing the government to siphon off more again in VAT.
It seems the government want a high cost and high tax economy in order to squander taxes on pet fluffy projects that are generally wasteful and of course keep their buddies on the gravy train.
@Cookie: You hit the nail on the head as usual. It’s ridiculous how high the cost of living is here. I lived in NY for a few years and found it cheaper to live there. Everywhere you turn here there is a bill.
@LaoisWeather: Maybe the Government wants to abolish the FIS (now called the WFP) and force employers to pay employees more instead. Either way, the consumer/taxpayer will end up footing the bill.
@Cookie: the zealots in the Green Party want to crucify us with carbon taxes
@Richard Russell:
They already are
Especially when trying to import a car with fairly average emissions.
We can’t all cycle to work Mr Ryan!
@Cookie:
Agree. We have the almost the highest energy charges in Europe, same with bin charges , and thanks to very creative tax loopholes pay little or tax in this country. A complete reform of our tax system is long overdue
I’d imagine employers will just cut the hours for staff..
And make the staff that are there work harder..
@Geraldine O’Riordan: they won’t.
@Derek Moran: we will
@Geraldine O’Riordan: Staff on minimum wage are already working as much as they can and doing the bare maximum as it is. Almost every minimum wage job is severely understaffed
The knock on effect is where most of the benefit would be lost. Surely the additional to businesses already struggling would be passed either directly onto the customer or staff would see a reduction in hours etc. A €2 or thereabouts increase per hour in wages for a small business across a 39 hour week is a substantial additional overhead. What about looking at the cost of living instead?
Ah yeah just let the self employed sort this out for you. No worries..Businesses only been open about 6 months in the last year but hey we got this
@Ann Mc Shane: You’ve not got anything – yet! All that’s happening is that The LPC is starting a review – you may well be an OAP before its recommendations are accepted by whatever government is elected in 2035!
@Ann Mc Shane: 6 months, ha, 14 weeks since march 23rd, 2020.
@Terry Larkin: my concern is their approach on helping employees live on their wages. Why should the employer and eventually the customer take the brunt. Its all wrong,
@Karl Mc Cauley: depends on your industry pal
The cost of living is just too expensive on our min wage the right job would be to tackle the cost of living but thats too much work so we will continue to tie ourselves up in further knots…
Maybe reduce the ridiculously high Tax first, increase the cutoff point and give people a chance to work hard and earn enough to be able to afford the high cost of living in this country.
@Fiddlestix: The 30k cutt off the fiddle with means absolutely nothing to the lowest earners, those who are struggling worse
Interesting to see how this will affect pubs. They’re obviously already going to be affected because of Covid, but if the minimum wage is increased by €2.10, that’ll surely add another 50c to €1 onto the price of a pint?
@Anthony Keenan: the price of everything will increase and then the living wage won’t be high enough anymore
@eoin carroll: of course it won’t, pure hyperbole
@Anthony Keenan: pubs can’t put up the price as it will decrease sales. It will come out of profits
@Anthony Keenan: If they are ever “allowed” reopen.
@eoin carroll: Yep, simple inflation
@eoin carroll: nows the time to take out a loan so.
How about cutting TDs wages. They get way overpaid for all the chaos they cause. Employ some monkeys instead. Oh I forgot we already have monkeys.
Abolish the so called temporary USC and reduce income tax. Help every working person who will then have more to put into our decimated economy. That’s if it ever opens up again!!
@Franny Ando: no don’t abolish it. Remove it from anyone under 50,000 or 85,000 as a couple and triple it for anyone on over 200,000 and 5 times for anyone on over 500,000.
@Karl Mc Cauley: Even better again.
Surely Dublin should have a higher minimum wage than the rest of the country
@mikeinclon: of course, in order to give it to dublin landlords and developers, makes perfect sense..
Family carers are paid €1.46 per hour, if paid anything at all. No bank holidays, no holiday leave, no lunch breaks, no pension, workers protection at all for up to 149.5 hours per week. All for a group that save the economy billions per year and picked up the slack for a failing health service during the pandemic. How about setting up a group to look at that.
Also worth noting min wage jobs are state subsidised jobs because people can’t live on the min wage.
Sorting out the cost of living in rip off Republic would be a better idea first. No point raising wages when we have things like utilities, insurance, groceries and even dining out or staying at a hotel in some parts even more than during the tiger times
@Tarraing Mo Liathróidí: At least people can choose how to spend that money. Or not.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: I agree having choice is great until you go to a concert or a match, then u have no choice cos the hotel sector become a cartel like in having all the same rip off prices
Everything else is going up in life but people’s wages.only working to barely survive in today’s world.capitalism has the world destroyed
@reginald: In Ireland you only work to exist. You don’t work to live.
@David Corrigan:
Work to shop in lidls as can’t afford anything better
@reginald: who says it’s capitalism’s fault? Nearly a quarter of the price of everything you buy goes to the govt. Also, bear in mind that our overlords in all the world’s central banks actually WANT prices to go up by 2% per year. It’s their stated policy.
And rents will soar.
@Darren Byrne:
Rents double what they were 20 years ago.
Salaries haven’t doubled!
@Darren Byrne: Thats been happening for years now and is leading to this
Good, about time.
Pay more to pay more!
Increase the minimum wage great idea but sadly this government and most previous governments have perfected stealth taxes etc so you are always struggling
At the same time please examine why OAPs are still awaiting full restoration of 2008 entitlements??????
@Sean Callan: The question should be, why are the OAP’s not on the minimum wage
How exactly would a government go about reducing the cost of living? A small Increase in wages for people who do the most important often labour intensive work is mooted and there materializes on here an army of I’m allright Jack’s suggesting the sky would fall in.
@Jointheclubtoo: shure most SME’s are loaded and could afford €15 an hour for menial labour jobs if only they were pushed. They would never pass this increase on to the consumer… not at all, at all.
Look up costs, overheads and prices and come back to us.
@Jointheclubtoo: get rid of the euro as currency. Make it illegal for government to deficit spend. Return to gold standard. Problem solved albeit after the mother and father of recessions.
Appears to be a mandate to spend as much as possible as quick as possible.
What will your government trade for debt forgiveness.
We need a rent freeze and tax relief for rental payments, not increased costs to small businesses.
Still don’t get it. Minimum wage jobs were never seen as a main wage. They were always additional income to a main salary.
@Craic_a_tower: They are a main wage to many though
@Mike: that’s not the fault of the employer, though, is it? So why should the employer be forced to subsidize what used to be entry level jobs?
@Squarepeg01: why should the tax payer subsidise employees who aren’t paid enough to live.. If you can’t pay a living wage your business is not viable
Anyone running a small business in this country knows it’s the straw that broke camels back half of s me will never open again when pandemic is over
Future rising prices will be partly blamed on this move. The Gov’t could avoid having to do this if their heart was set on correcting our failed housing policy. If they tackled that and made it fairer then it would be an improvement across the board.
@Paul Divers: failed housing policy? How about failed monetary system!
People wondering why the cost of living keeps on going up but have no idea about how our monetary system works. Makes sense.
I smell an election
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