Drop Coillte harvesting rights sale, Impact warns

One of the country’s largest trade unions has called on the Government to abandon its plans to sell off the harvesting rights of trees owned by Coillte.

Impact yesterday claimed that the controversial proposal to put the assets of the State-owned forestry company on sale made no economic sense based on the findings of research it had commissioned.

A report by economist Peter Bacon claims the overall result of the proposal would effectively liquidate Coillte as a viable, commercial entity. It concluded that the Government would need to obtain more than €1.3bn for the sale of harvesting rights for an 80-year period to compensate Coillte adequately. However, Mr Bacon said the Government would need to sell such rights for €78 per cubic metre — far above current market levels of between €43 and €50 per cubic metre.