The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has said that he has confidence in the board of Coillte.
In response to a parliamentary question from independent TD Carol Nolan, the minister said that he will continue to work closely with the directors of the board of the semi-state forestry agency.
The Laois-Offaly representative had sought information in relation to the directors appointed by the minister’s office to the board and what engagement McConalogue had with them since December 2022.
In January, it emerged that Coillte had entered into “an operational management agreement” with the UK asset management company Gresham House which is developing the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund (ISFF).
Coillte is aiming to create 100,000/ha of new forests by 2050 but will need €2 billion and “access capital to do this”.
Coillte
Minister McConalogue said that the chair of Coillte wrote to him and Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, Pippa Hackett in December 2022 to inform them of the launch of the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund.
The chief executive of Coillte followed up with a letter to the ministers on December 19, regarding the launch date for the fund.
McConalogue said that the ministers and senior representatives of Coillte met on January 19, to discuss the agency’s progress on its long-term strategic vision and its contribution to Ireland’s afforestation targets.
Deputy Carol Nolan asked Minister McConalogue if he believes the position of the Coillte directors was tenable following the controversial deal. He responded:
“As to the question of the directors of the board, I advise that I have confidence in the board and we will continue to work closely with them in regards to the continued good governance of Coillte and to encourage Coillte’s contribution to afforestation.”
Deputy Nolan said that she thought the reputational damage done to Coillte through its engagement with Gresham House “would have given the minister some cause for concern around its governance”.
“That is clearly not the case. It seems therefore that no matter what actions Coillte takes or no matter how much its corporate engagements are not ‘the preferred model’ it will have the backing of this minister and this government.
“That will send a clear signal to Irish forestry organisations, farmers and landowners about whose side the minister will come down on should any similar controversies arise in the future,” the TD claimed.