Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
828. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will engage with Coillte to ensure that its existing forest road network is used optimally by all forest owners, with a view to avoiding duplication, reducing resource wastage, and supporting best-practice forest management and timber mobilisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14814/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraCoillte 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 company is currently managing 440,000 hectares of land (7% of the total area of the Republic of Ireland), and its day-to-day operations, such as the construction of forest roads for the mobilisation of timber in the Coillte forest estate, are entirely a matter for the company.
Coillte, as is the case with all private and public forest owners, is required to obtain a licence for the construction of a new forest road from my Department.
While my Department encourages cooperation between forest owners through the Forest Road Scheme, this is ultimately a matter for forest owners to decide on in respect of their individual forests.
