Groups unite in bid to halt Coillte privatisation

A battle to keep Coillte in public ownership has stepped up a gear as a cross-section of interest groups called on the Government not to sell the asset.

The trade union Impact launched a report which said if the forests fell into private ownership generations of conservation would be undone.

“The proposal to dismantle Coillte, if executed, would unravel a century’s work. In many cases, our forests are now in their second and subsequent rotations. As this sequence advances, the structure and appearance of the forest is changing progressively,” it read.