Wage costs up by almost €4m at state forestry firm Coillte
Last year 6,000 hectares of land across country was reforested, but cost of Storm Éowyn sits at €60m
The wage bill at the state forestry company Coillte rose by almost €4m last year, with a noticeable increase in the numbers earning a salary of over €150,000.
While employee numbers rose by just eight, to 863, the pay bill jumped from €57.8m to €61.6m.
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Agriland
2 days ago
- Agriland
'No plans to transfer the national forest estate to NPWS'
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon has said that he has 'no plans' to transfer Coillte's forestry holdings to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). In a parliamentary question this week (June 2025) People Before Profit-Solidarity TD, Richard Boyd Barrett asked Minister Heydon if he would consider the move 'to ensure that Ireland's forestry will be preserved for non-commercial use and biodiversity will be conserved'. Minister Heydon highlighted that Coillte was established as a commercial state company with private limited status under the Forestry Act 1988, to become custodian and manager of the national forest estate. The minister explained that a principal object of the company, set out in the Forestry Act, is to carry on the business of forestry and related activities on a commercial basis, and in accordance with efficient silvicultural practices. He said: 'The focus at the time when the company was established was to put the estate in the charge of a company that would realise its potential and support wood production. 'Coillte is currently managing 440,000 hectares of land, 7% of the total area of the Republic of Ireland. 'Coillte's role has evolved over time to reflect the company's important role in addressing the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the forestry sector and our rural economy,' Minister Heydon added. Minister Martin Heydon According to Minister Heydon, one-fifth of Coillte's forestry estate, or 90,000ha, is currently managed primarily for biodiversity. 'The current legislation governing the mandate of Coillte, together with government policy, the existing shareholder letter of expectations, existing national and EU legislation, along with Coillte's own strategic vision, ensures that climate action and the protection and enhancement of nature and biodiversity are integral to the company's role and operations,' the minister said. He also claims that Coillte has a long term 'ambition' to manage 30% of its estate primarily for nature and biodiversity. As a result, Minister Heydon said that he believes that Coillte's role as custodian and manager of the national forest estate should remain unchanged.
Agriland
5 days ago
- Agriland
MREF slams limit on TAMS applications in future tranches
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Agriland
5 days ago
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Stapleton outlines challenges facing Forest Windblow Taskforce
The Irish Farmers' Association's (IFA) forestry chair, Pardraic Stapleton has said that the number of truck drivers is 'biggest overall challenge' facing the Forest Windblow Taskforce. Stapleton told Agriland that industry is working with international recruitment firms for drivers, but getting work permits is a concern. He said: 'The likes of South Africa is favourable as a country to go and get drivers. They drive on the same side of the road. 'To get work permits in is a bit of a process, a lot of those permits go through the same department as asylum seekers. That department is, I would say, overloaded with work. We would hope that there is some accommodation made on that score. That is the big one, whether we can overcome it or not, I don't know,' Stapleton explained. According to Stapleton, 'the clock is ticking' to lift timber that was damaged by Storm Éowyn and Storm Darragh earlier this year. 'Timber on the ground is a perishable commoditiy. It is a concern, whether we have the capacity to get through it or not. It is all down to how we are able, as a country, to get drivers,' Stapleton said. 'There is recruitment going on, but it's trying to get them trained up before they come here, and assimilate into the way we work, our rules of the road, what to expect, that work is going on over there.' 'If it is a thing they are not allowed onto the road until they are fully permitted, it's going to be too late. It's going to need a whole of government approach to get timber lifted off the ground,' Stapleton added. Forest Windblow Taskforce Stapleton also said, that no compensation has been given to forestry farmers impacted by windblow earlier this year. However, Stapleton welcomed the commitment of the Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Michael Healy-Rae that there will be a reconstitution grant. Stapleton said: 'We have gone to the taskforce with out concerns. We do not have the capacity to replant that amount of land within the two year timeframe that a license requires. 'I welcome the fact that the minister has given a bit of leeway on this, and he will allow time for that work to commence. Anyone picking up their timber now, will also be eligible for the reconstitution grant. That's a huge weight off.' 'The volume of timber on the ground is a long way off where it should have been. The economics of picking up that timber now, and replanting it without a reconstitution grant, it's not financially viable,' the IFA chair added.
