Howlin rules out land sales

COILLTE:COILLTE MAY lose some of its assets under Government proposals to sell off State entities over the next two years.

Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin said “consideration will be given” to selling some of the assets of the forestry body. However, he ruled out the sale of Coillte’s land, which amounts to about 7 per cent of the land cover of Ireland.

Established in 1988, Coillte is a commercial company with three divisions: Coillte Forest manages planting, timber harvesting, recreation resources and the provision of forestry services; Coillte Panel Products makes wood panels; Coillte Enterprise is involved in land sales and development, telecommunications infra-structure, renewable energy including wind farms, Coillte Nurseries, Coillte Wood Products and Coillte Training and Safety Services.

A Coillte spokesman said that any asset sale was a matter for the company’s shareholders. “We’re focused on the delivery of a strategy which is around forestry, panel products, renewable energy and land management,” he said.

Green Party leader and former communications and energy minister Eamon Ryan said allowing other uses of Coillte’s land, such as forestry by outside developers or renewable energy projects, while the land remained in State ownership, “made sense”.

Coillte’s results for 2010 show turnover rose by €43.5 million or 21 per cent to €250.4 million. Export sales accounted for 54 per cent of turnover. Profit after tax rose from €4.2 million in 2009 to €32.1 million in 2010.

Business lobby Ibec cautioned against any quick sale of State assets. Ibec director general Danny McCoy said “there will be no shortage of interest in investment opportunities in Irish assets. The government must ensure that valuable assets are not sold too cheaply to raise cash quickly.”