Ms Vivienne Jupp:

Good evening, Chair, Deputies and Senators. I am pleased to appear before the committee in my role as chair designate of Coillte. As I am sure members will appreciate, since my appointment as chair designate, I have not had much time to acquaint myself fully with the business and operations of Coillte. That said, I will deal with members' questions as well as I can. Important for me at this stage would be to hear the views of the members of the committee on the key stakeholders with an interest in our work.

When I was assessing this position, I was conscious of the critical role Coillte has to play in Ireland achieving its climate action targets. With each year that passes, just how challenging these targets are is becoming increasingly apparent, with the urgent need to make more progress. In this regard, I was very impressed by the journey which Coillte has been on in recent years. I am also impressed by Coillte’s strategic vision for its future forest estate. It is clear to me that Coillte plays an important role in balancing and delivering the multiple benefits of forestry, not just in the commercial sphere but also in relation to climate, biodiversity and recreation. I look forward to working with the board and management and, indeed, all of our key stakeholders, to ensure that Coillte continues to deliver for our shareholders and for society as a whole. Before elaborating further on this, I wish to provide members with brief details of my background.

I was a senior executive with Accenture, a global management consultancy firm, for a considerable period. In addition to this experience, I gained extensive experience of the State sector when I was chair of CIÉ. I am currently a member of the board of Fáilte Ireland and chair of Premier Lotteries Ireland. I believe that the commercial semi-State sector performs a very important role in our economy and society. I believe that my experience will help me to lead the board of Coillte and ensure we continue to deliver on our commercial mandate, and on national climate and biodiversity policy.

As I am sure members are all aware, Coillte was established in 1989 as a commercial semi-State company. It has been on a journey of change and transition to become a profitable, innovative and climate-focused State-owned commercial company. Coillte’s purpose is to manage the State forests on behalf of the people of Ireland. It is responsible for 440,000 ha of forested lands. Coillte is Ireland's largest producer and supplier of certified wood to the domestic wood-processing sector. It contributes to the construction of low carbon houses by producing circa 3 million cu. m of sustainably grown, certified Irish roundwood annually.

As one of the largest landowners in the country, Coillte has a deep-rooted relationship with the communities in which it is embedded. The company has been to the forefront in developing onshore wind farms in Ireland, in the delivery of outdoor recreation spaces, and through its Medite Smartply business, providing sustainable building products to the construction industry.

It is very important, in my view, that Coillte is commercially successful and financially well underpinned. I am very encouraged by its current strong financial position. This strong position facilitates its rolling annual capital investment and reforestation programmes, enables its ongoing delivery of a wide range of social dividends, and further strengthens its financial position, thereby supporting the delivery of its new forestry strategic vision. It also pays a dividend to the State.

Coillte's focus is all about delivering on this forestry strategic vision. Announced in April 2022, the vision set ambitious targets on climate, biodiversity and recreation, while continuing to deliver for the forest and wood products industry. Importantly, it aims to sustainably balance and deliver the multiple benefits of Ireland's State forests across four strategic pillars, which are climate, nature, wood and people.

I will address the actions that Coillte proposes to deliver as part of this forestry strategic vision. On climate, while recognising the challenges of availability of land and capital, Coillte is targeting the enablement of the creation of 100,000 ha of new forests by 2050, half of which would be native woodlands. Coillte also has an ambition to redesign 30,000 ha of peatland forests for climate and ecological benefits by 2050. In addition, Coillte is continuing to drive the development of wind energy on its estate through its joint venture with FuturEnergy Ireland. On nature, Coillte is targeting the enhancement and restoration of biodiversity by increasing the area of the estate managed primarily for nature from 20% to 30% by 2025.

Coillte is targeting the production of 25 million cu. m of certified Irish timber up to 2030 to support the construction of 300,000 new homes in that period. Coillte also has an ambition to promote the use and benefits of wood products, to increase the level of timber homes in Ireland from 20% to 80% by 2050. It is 80% in Scotland. Against this backdrop, Coillte is participating in the new interdepartmental and industry steering group on timber in construction, which aims to identify opportunities to increase the amount of wood used in construction.

Coillte has an ambition to enable the investment of €100 million to create world class visitor destinations to support growth in tourism and recreation by 2030. In July 2022, Beyond the Trees Avondale was launched, including the magnificent treetop walk and viewing tower, and in July 2023 the newly refurbished Avondale House reopened. This world-class, age-friendly visitor attraction uses Irish timber throughout and represents an outstanding example of what Irish timber can achieve. Coillte is also targeting the doubling of the number of recreation areas to 500 to benefit local communities and people's health and well-being.

Following the launch of its strategic vision in April 2022, Coillte consulted widely to hear the views of key stakeholders and the general public. Last December, following completion of its public consultation and a strategic environmental assessment, Coillte published a more detailed Forest Estate Strategic Land Use Plan 2023-2050. This plan sets out a range of objectives which will help the organisation to deliver on its strategic ambitions. Coillte's approach aims to sustainably balance and deliver the objectives of climate, nature, wood and people, while ensuring that the organisation remains financially sustainable so that it can continue to invest in providing a broad range of services to society.

With the committee's support, I look forward to my time as chair of Coillte. I am confident that we will succeed in delivering on our strategic initiatives as a business. I look forward to hearing members' feedback and any questions that they might have.