Coillte (Irish pronunciation:[ˈkəil̠ʲtʲə]; meaning "forests"/"woods") is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a 'land solutions' division,[3] and a wood panel manufacturing business called 'Medite Smartply'.[2][4]
Operation
The company was incorporated in December 1988 and commenced trading in January 1989 when it took over the forestry activities previously carried out by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.[5] Shares are held by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Minister for Finance on behalf of the Irish Government.[6][5] During 2016, the organisation had an average of 862 employees.[7][1] The Coillte estate is 4,450 square kilometres of which 79% is forest; it manages over 50% of forested land in the country.[8]
In its 27 years of operation between 1989 and 2016, Coillte had:
Grown its forest and land estate from 396,000 hectares to over 440,000 hectares[2]
Increased operating profits from a loss of €0.4 million to operating profits of €64.9 million (2016)[7]
Grown turnover from €38.0 million to €287.7 million (2016)[7]
Increased log sales from 1.5 million cubic metres to 1.6 million cubic metres (2016)[7]
According to the Coillte website, 20% of its estate is managed with biodiversity as the primary objective.[9] Other entities have however questioned Coillte's commercially focused practices and the amount of land afforded to native species.[8]
Developments
In 2011, there was speculation that Coillte could be sold by the Government of Ireland as part of cost-cutting measures.[10][11][12] As of 2011, Coillte was also seeking to calculate the aggregate economic value of its 445,000ha of forest estate.[13]
In 2018 the organisation was reportedly criticised for payment and communication issues with some landowners.[14]
^ abc"About Us - Our Story". coillte.ie. Coillte. Retrieved 6 July 2017. Coillte are [..] custodians of 7% of Ireland's land [..and..] have three high potential businesses: Forestry, Land Solutions and Medite Smartply
^"Our Business - Our Divisions - Land Solutions". coillte.ie. Retrieved 24 February 2023. Land Solutions [..involves..] developing areas where our lands are suited to activity other than forestry
^ ab"Native trees cover just 2% of Ireland. How can this be increased?". Irish Times. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018. More than half of Ireland's forest cover (and 7 per cent of land in the State) is owned by Coillte, deft exponents of the dark arts of clear-felling, a practice illegal in Denmark, Switzerland, Slovenia and parts of Germany for its devastating effects on plants, animals, soil and landscapes alike [..] Crann and the Woodland League want Coillte to carry out more diverse planting and continuous coverage forestry, the norm on the European mainland. Coillte has earmarked just 5 per cent of its 445,000 hectares of land for it
