Coillte warned crucial EU grants may be lost over poor forest care

THE State owned forestry company may lose crucial EU grant aid because of poor forest maintenance, it was claimed yesterday.

Speaking at the presentation of a report on Coillte by the joint Oireachtas Committee on State sponsored Bodies, its chairman, Mr Liam Kavanagh TD (Lab), said it was "very concerned" about the inadequate care of forests.

This he attributed to cost cutting but he warned that once the current tranche of EU support ended in 1999 the quality of Irish wood product had to be guaranteed to ensure future support.

The report gives Coillte a clean financial bill of health but criticises its dependence on Sitka spruce tree production to the detriment of other species.

It also calls for stronger environmental protection in forestry development through an urgent review of legislation and replacing voluntary guidelines with a statutorily enforced code of practice.

The scale of EU support is indicated by an estimated £52 million expenditure under its afforestation grant and premium schemes this year.

Similar support is envisaged up to 1999 but plans for 20,000 hectares of afforestation annually up to 2030 - leading to a doubling of tree cover - would hinge on continued support, Mr Kavanagh noted.

"We must ensure a high level of silviculture [forest development] to ensure EU monies are maintained," he said. "We feel EU monies might be in danger if that is not the case.

The report says Coillte should agree with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry on targets to reduce Sitka, which is grown mainly because of quick maturing but has been the subject of controversy. The reduction should be from its 1995 level of 81 per cent of total planting to 70 per cent by 2000, with similar targets for private planters.

The gap should be made up by planting of Norway spruce, Douglas fir, Scots pine and larch. "The threat of disease in monoculture plantations should be ample justification for this."

While acknowledging Coillte's need for commercial involvement and success with the private sector and farmers, the report suggests that because of its dominant position it should avoid wood processing including sawmilling until a new system of timber supply and pricing is shown to be working satisfactorily for three years.

The report rejects the IFA view that premiums be withdrawn from Coillte and non farmers because this was allowing them to outbid farmers for land. It accepts that Coillte plans to plant more than 7,000 hectares annually, which would mean buying land from farmers and removing it from agriculture.

Privatisation of Coillte was ruled out because the company was still developing, but Mr Kavanagh accepted - notwithstanding his strong views against it - that it might arise in the future.

The State could sell its asset far too short by privatising now, according to Mr Martin Cullen (FF), a committee member. He stressed the need for farm forestry to maintain people on the land.