Coillte sale ‘crucial’ to troika plan

The European Central Bank is still under the impression that the Irish forestry body, Coillte, will be privatised as part of the troika programme for government.

In a response to a query in relation to the proposed sale of Coillte, the director of the European Central Bank secretariat, Pierre Van Der Hagen said that releasing any data could harm a future sale of the state company.

Mr Van Der Hagen said that the Coillte privatisation was a crucial part of the EU/IMF bailout programme agreed to by Ireland.

“The disclosure of commercially sensitive data at this early stage of the overall restructuring of Coillte could unduly affect the valuation of Coillte assets and thus run counter to the interests of the Republic of Ireland in implementing its economic policy.

“Given that this privatisation forms an integral part of the structural measures to which the Government of Ireland committed as part of the EU/IMF programme, it is in the public interest to protect such commercially sensitive data in order to ensure the best possible financial outcome of the privatisation process for the economic benefit of the Irish State budget,” he said.

The ECB statement seems to be at odds with the Government’s plans for Coillte.

The Government bowed to public pressure and backed down from selling the harvesting rights to the million acres of trees that the semi-state company has under its control.

A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture said the Government had decided on June 19 last year not to sell the harvesting rights to Coillte’s forests.

Following that decision, the Government has been considering merging Coillte with Bord na Móna to form a bio-energy company.

“The Government also decided, in June 2013, that a robust analysis be carried out to evaluate how to give effect to a beneficial merger of Coillte with Bord na Móna to create a streamlined and refocused commercial state company operating in the bio-energy and forestry sectors, as committed to in the Programme for Government.

“NewERA prepared a financial evaluation on behalf of the relevant government departments, which is currently being finalised.

“The outcome of this analytical exercise will then be considered by the relevant ministers in due course,” the spokesperson said.