President of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Tim Cullinan will meet with Coillte tomorrow afternoon to discuss the state forester’s deal with UK-based investment fund Gresham House.
The meeting will take place in the afternoon in IFA’s headquarters at the Irish farm Centre in Dublin.
Speaking at the IFA’s annual general meeting today (Tuesday, January 24), Cullinan said he will be raising a number of concerns with Coillte during the meeting.
“I’ve been very clear from the start going back to when government announced the package of €1.3 billion last year.
“Farmers have to get priority with this funding, it’s absolutely essential, that’s very important,” he said.
Cullinan also raised concerns around a potential loss in grazing area due to afforestation, which he said could be “anything up to 8%”.
He stated that the impact of afforestation on local communities and economies must be considered during planning.
“There’s a social aspect to this as well, we need to be very careful where we are planting trees, we need a balance around this.
“If we can keep our farmers dispersed right around the country, I think that’s very important.
“So, I am concerned but are meeting Coillte and we’ll reassess the situation then,” he concluded.
Meetings on Coillte deal
Numerous discussions will are set to take place on the Coillte deal tomorrow (Wednesday, January 25).
In addition to the IFA’s meeting, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State with responsibility for forestry Pippa Hackett, will come before the Joint Oireachtas Committee (JOC) on Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The ministers are likely to be quizzed on the Coillte deal at the meeting, while Minister McConalogue could face further questioning from his colleagues at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting, which is also taking place tomorrow.
Tensions have continued to mount in recent weeks as further details about the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s (DAFM) awareness of such an agreement come to light.
Agriland reported last week that the department had been briefed by senior executives in Coillte on the forester’s operations, including its engagement with “a number of different fund managers”, which was “in the late stages of being towards the end of that process”.