Coillte / State try to take farners land

by John Armstrong Mon Dec 11, 2006 22:12

Coillte should be stripped of the FSC cert, as they have not come up to standard on many of the criteria .

by Con - Saw Mon Dec 11, 2006 23:34

Open the gate which you have every right to do. Take control of your land yourselves for starters and let us know how you get on or if you need a hand if and when Coillte get nasty or nastier. Update with reports.

by Niall Harnett Tue Dec 12, 2006 00:38

Absolutely John, Coillte should be stripped of any and all eco-labels they have got through deception and also through a flawed FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) process. Coillte are complicit and directly responsible for the destruction of environmental and human/community ecology and the facilitation of profit before people through every corner of this country.

And as you know ... Shoulda, woulda, coulda ... though ... does not get the job done.

Anyone interested in effecting 'should be stripped' to 'have been stripped' should contact the Woodland League and give them a hand to encourage sustainable forestry practice in Ireland.
See http://www.woodlandleague.org

Also, come to the Weekends in the Woods organised by CELT, Centre for Environmental Living & Training, for valuable practical insight into the value and potential of our woods and trees who, as the highest achievement of nature, regulate our soil, our air and our water.
See http://www.celtnet.org

by John mcDermott - www.fiannafailparty.biz Wed Dec 13, 2006 01:55

Coillte, is a strange beast. it is a private company dealing in state lands owned by the people of ireland. It is my belief that this outfit will some day be the subject of a Moriarty Tribunal. they have a brief to sell state owned property to Fianna Fail speculators countrywide. If there is a new motorway coming through your local state owned forest in 10 years time, it will be sold off long before, to those cronies of the party "in the know". They will buy it for buttons and sell it for 100 times the price.

by PaddyK Wed Dec 13, 2006 02:56

http://www.coillte.ie/about_coillte/index.htm

What are you talking about? Either shut up or explain yourself properly.

Coillte plant more trees than they fell.They make forest park amenities, are they private?

Please detail your submission.

With some details , preferably.

by Niall Harnett Thu Dec 14, 2006 12:34

Easy there now Tiger. Would suggest that you might want to ensure that your 'righteous indignation' (on behalf of Coillte) is based on a position you of being 'in the know', before you go shouting your mouth off telling others to shut up. Failing that, you could always just politely ask people to explain.

You say that 'Coillte plant more trees than they fell'. What kind of trees would they be?

I'd also suggest that providing a link to the Coillte website is like asking Bertie Ahern for info on the corruption of Government.

Yes it's probably time for more articles about Coillte and I'll certainly try to contribute myself. For the moment I'd advise you to do some research by clicking around Woodland League website at the bottom of this comment and reading this: http://www.woodlandleague.org/info/info/IT&F-Coillte&Ce...5.htm

by Court Observer Sun Dec 17, 2006 22:56

The Judge landlocked this farmer. Whatever happened to the fact that nobody can be landlocked from their land. Maybe this is the case when the State tries to rob land they want !!. Why wasnt this man allowed an appeal as he is entitled to under the Constitution ?. Corrupt Judge.?

by Ciaran Hughes Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:43 ciaran_hughes at yahoo dot co dot uk

PaddyK, this is precisely the type of misinformation that is thought about Coillte by 90% of the Irish population. I don't blame you for what you say - it is very common for the public to think that Coillte are "the good guys", because, after all, "they plant so many trees they've got to be good".

Firstly, Coillte have all but halted their afforestation program. This means that they are not expanding the size of their forests. They are solely reforesting sites they fell. Naturally, this means that if they fell 100 trees, they will plant maybe 500 in their place. However, over the course of the managment, 80% of this 500 will be "thinned" (i.e. the weaker trees removed so the stronger trees can grow). Thus we end up with the same 100 trees, which end up felled anyways.

Coillte's products are low-grade. They make low-grade OSB and MDF which have a very limited lifespan (most, I believe, is used in the construction industry for concrete shuttering, which is discarded after only a number of months). They make poor grade stakes and other such material, which rots after only a few years. In order to increase the lifespan of their products, they used various preservatives which are seriously dangerous to the environment. But, more subtely and perhaps more importantly, as their products are laid to waste after, let's say for arguments sake, 10 years, the carbon that the trees have absorbed over their forty year lifespan is released.

Coillte's trees are over 95% foreign exotic conifers, primarily Sitka Spruce, lodgepole pine, douglas fir. None of these grow well on peatland. It's to do with the phosporous content of the soil - peatland has very low phosphorous content. Alas, nigh on 50% of Coillte land is peatland, planted with these exotic conifers. So what do Coillte do? Well they get in their helcopters and spray phosphorous rich fertilizer on their land to try and make their trees grow. But the peatland won't absorb much of it, so they need to keep spraying. It all gets locked up in the root systems of the trees. After 25-40 years of this fertilizer spraying, Coillte eventually fell the trees. All of the fertilizer that was locked up in the root systems is now released into the waterways. I will point you to the situation with the Owenriff river, and the fact that there has been a moratorium on Coillte felling in much of the west of Ireland because of this exact situation.

We keep telling Coillte that they should grow more hardwoods. Willow will grow quite nicely on peatland, for example, without the need of fertilizers, and it grows fast. In a lot of situations, Ash will outgrow Sitka Spruce. But Coillte published a report last year stating that their is no economic gain from planting hardwoods. But here's the real clincher - Coillte imports hardwoods for their mill in Dundrum.

I could go on...but I'd suggest going to the site that Niall links to above.

by Ciaran Hughes Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:51

John, Walter and Niall

There was a posting here recently - a press release from a group of NGOs demanding Coillte's FSC cert to be removed. See http://www.indymedia.ie/article/80136.

The links at the bottom lead to very detailed information as to why Coillte's cert should be removed.

Regards
Ciaran

by Court Reporter Mon Jan 08, 2007 21:51

The politicans should be told of the disatisfaction the people have with Coillte's disasterous management " skills", and how they treat the people of Ireland ( who own the forests), when they come looking for their votes in the coming months.

by no.6 - lfc Mon Jan 08, 2007 22:20

Yes. all are entitled to an appeal. The trick is , you do not ask for it as this is the trapping of the court to refuse and close the case down , usually on behalf of an interested party who are 'looked after' by the real (hidden) land grabbers - ALWAYS THE LEAST YOU SUSPECT.

No one ever really believes that the real corruption is at a much different level.
Most people actually believe that they will receive JUSTICE in the courts.

One needs to lodge an appeal themselves in the court office -
and don't tell anyone , especially your brief , if you were nieve enough to engage one in the first place.

Any way , some person has attempted doing the above on behalf of Coillte. All correspondence should be register mailed to them.

It seems that 'your' brief asked for an appeal in court on your behalf.
That , was the real sell-out.

The Judge ( knowing very well) accommodated this act.

Keep everything 'on the record' through registered mail.

Good luck.

by Barry Mon Jan 22, 2007 19:44

This matter should never have gone to court. It should have been resolved by consultation with the IFCI.

Coillte , and the farmer's representative were wrong in not giving this advice .

www.irishforestcertification.com

by Court Reporter Sat Feb 10, 2007 09:55

Coillte are yet again continuing their bullying against several people at Nowen Hill, West Cork.

24 hour security have now been placed at the entrance to this wood, where people have legal rights to enter.

This is disgraceful conduct , coming from a State Company.

It is intende to make the conduct of Coillte an Election issue, to halt the march of this Mafia outfit.