Coillte Teoranta
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-23
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Niall Collins (FF), Limerick County

I wish to explain to the House and the Senators that I was in the Dáil Chamber and I was to be relieved at 11 a.m. to come in here to take this matter, but there was some kind of a mix-up. I was not relieved until 11.30 a.m. and I came straight here then.
I thank Senator Rabbitte for giving me the opportunity to update the House on Coillte’s plans for Portumna Forest Park. Coillte, which is the custodian of our public forest estate, currently manages 440,000 ha of land, which represents 7% of the total area of the State. The company employs more than 800 staff. While Coillte is Ireland's largest producer and supplier of certified timber, its role is much wider than just managing productive forests. It manages much of its estate for nature and is the largest provider of outdoor recreation in Ireland. It records increases in the number of visitors to its recreational forests every year. Its locations include Beyond the Trees, located in Avondale Forest Park in County Wicklow, which was the most visited forest park in 2025, recording almost 350,000 visits.
Portumna Forest Park is also part of Coillte’s portfolio of recreational forests. It covers almost 450 ha, and was acquired by the company in 1948. I recognise that this forest, located in County Galway, is very important for recreation and biodiversity in the area. It is a valued amenity that attracts more than 45,000 visits annually. Coillte has implemented a range of woodland habitat enhancement and ecological restoration measures across the forest, including the planting of native oak trees within mature Scots pine stands through an underplanting programme designed to increase woodland diversity, strengthen habitat connectivity and support the development of a more natural and resilient forest structure.
In recent years, in partnership with Galway County Council and with the support of Fáilte Ireland, Coillte undertook to explore opportunities to further enhance the visitor experience at Portumna Forest Park. This process included significant public and stakeholder engagement and consultation and helped to inform the long-term vision for the forest park. Following a review of Coillte’s national recreation programme in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, the company took the decision not to progress the planned redevelopment project at Portumna Forest Park at this time. The company has informed me that this decision was communicated to all involved stakeholders. While the redevelopment project is not progressing, Coillte remains committed to the management and upkeep of Portumna Forest Park and maintaining the visitor facilities available onsite. It is important to keep in mind that Coillte was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act 1988. Therefore, day-to-day operational matters, such as the management of its visitor centres and recreational forests, are the responsibility of the company.
Storm Éowyn caused significant damage to the Coillte estate. A satellite imagery-based assessment of wind-damaged forest areas has determined that 14,500 ha of forests were affected. To put this into perspective, this is more than twice the size of Coillte’s annual harvest area. Despite the challenges experienced last year, approximately 30% of the Coillte estate, representing approximately 135,000 ha of forest and land, is now managed primarily for nature and biodiversity. Coillte's objectives to 2050 are set out in its forest estate strategic land-use plan, which was published in 2023 and supports the long-term delivery of climate, nature, wood and people benefits across Ireland's forests. It is important to keep in mind that Coillte is a central part of Ireland's wider forestry sector, which supports more than 9,000 jobs and contributes approximately €2.3 billion to the Irish economy nationally. I strongly believe, in conclusion, that Coillte continues to have an important role in delivering the multiple benefits of forests for climate, nature, wood and people, creating lasting value for society while sustainably managing our public forest estate.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-23