Climate & Environment

Coillte deal with British pension fund ‘the tip of the iceberg’

The newly created Irish Strategic Forestry Fund to be managed by Coillte has an initial portfolio of 30,000 acres of forestry land, but rural TDs warn it will expand significantly, driving up prices for agricultural and forestry land

The rate of forest planting in Ireland currently stands at less than 5,000 acres per year, meaning it will take 224 years for the state to reach an 18 per cent forestry cover unless forest planting dramatically increases.

Rural TDs have warned that Coillte’s deal to buy and manage tens of thousands of acres of forestry land on behalf of a British pension fund is just the “tip of the iceberg”.

Last week, the semi-state forestry agency announced that it will act as the management and operational partner for the newly created Irish Strategic Forestry Fund, which is seeking to raise up to €200 million in private capital and develop an initial forestry ...