State selling off the peoples land

adagio

A fire-sale of the peoples land... immoral?
http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/2/help-save-irelands-forests/

CrankyCod

this isue is very important and doesn't seem to be getting people's attention: the reality is that if the sale goes ahead, the Coillte land will pass into private hands. Given that rights-of-way in Ireland are not protected or even recorded, there is a strong chance that the loop walks and access routes wil be closed.

Once that happens it will be almost impossible to get them reopened.

The process has already started:

http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JAN196415

I would prefer if the lands were not sold.

On the other hand, the change of ownership will not affect the access rights as exist now. And the Lisadell decision (which is I think under appeal) might cause owners to think twice about blocking or challenging apparent rights of way.

But again, all things being equal, of course one would have to prefer the status quo, the devil you know and all that...

hmmm

I am worried that this thread will attract a shower of political agitators, but the sale of Coillte does seem to be on the agenda and we would need strong lobbying to ensure it doesn't affect outdoor enthusiasts. I'm not worried about whether or not "the peoples land" is owned by a semi state or not, just as long as access is protected.

Any new owner must be required to allocate a certain % of their turnover to providing facilities for enthusiasts, and they must be forced to allow access through their lands (except in areas with active felling etc..) Disputed rights of ways are not good enough, there is too much uncertainty. Coillte also build and allow bike trails, and they provide car parking facilities.

In fairness to Coillte they have been getting better in recent years, although I would like them to build a few more simple carparks (like the one at Shay Elliot in Wicklow).

pslat

This issue is far more important than rights of way. Although I recognize the importance of those, as it stands the land under Coillte's forestry belongs to all of the people in Ireland - Therefore we have (in theory anyway) a right to say what is allowed and what may be done with this land. The way things have gone in this country we don't seem to have much say lately, but if this land is sold off to private investors we will have little or no say in what happens with that land in the future. People have spoken in the recent election. We are tired of not having a voice and are not going to continue to shrug as our(?) government ignore us, em.. are we? Right now, that land belongs to all of the people in Ireland. I sincerely believe we should keep it that way.:(

adagio

Listen guys...
Irish people in general don't do action.... sure we'll sign a petition and post on social sites but few will put words into action.
Why not pull the hiking/climbing/kayaking/walking/Flora n fauna groups together in Eire and do the following before it's too late:

• Create a platform where all the disparate outdoor communities can come together
• Ask each individual for a €2 euro a month donation and place it into an account - how many people use the outdoors and would be willing to contribute.. 10,000... 20,000..?!?!
• Use the money to hire a legal team and an publicity team.

We have to stop this now... or just lament about another the time Bertie Ahern and elites screwed the people of Ireland over!
But if someone is going to take this on.. you need to move w/speed!
I cannot personally start this process as I'm currently in the process of trying to start something similar (re-mortgages).
Good luck.. and no more talking shop please.
A.

Judge

adagio wrote: »

We have to stop this now... or just lament about another the time Bertie Ahern and elites screwed the people of Ireland over! But if someone is going to take this on.. you need to move w/speed!
I cannot personally start this process as I'm currently in the process of trying to start something similar (re-mortgages).
Good luck.. and no more talking shop please.
A.

LOL! You are Fintan O'Toole and I claim the €5!

I have no doubt that there will be a recommendation that Coillte will be sold and Colm McCarthy has form in this area - in the original Bord Snip report in the 1980s he recommended that the Phoenix Park and St Ann's Park be sold to property developers.

I'm not sure that selling Coillte is a bad thing. For years the hillwalking community's concerns about access have been fobbed off with an "Ah sure Coillte let you onto their land, why can't you just use that?". If a model has to be developed to retain recreational access to Coillte land post-privatisation it might also be the impetus for a real initiative to open the countryside to walkers generally.

That said, there is a threat: up until recently the uplands were worthless land and so people like us could tramp about the hills fairly freely, even if getting up there proved troublesome. Now, with so much money pouring into the wind-energy bubble, uplands have an economic value. Coillte has already entered into this sphere and it will not be long before hillwalkers are kicked off their land in favour of wind turbines. Public or privately owned, rights of access to the upland areas owned by Coillte are going to become a major issue soon. One hopes our new Taoiseach (a hillwalker himself, I believe) is alert to this issue.

Real_World?

This is very sad that the forestry of Ireland will now be lost forever... no longer the Emerald Isle..

Real_World?

Real_World? wrote: »

no longer the Emerald Isle..

:eek:

They selling the grass too?

adagio

Bump!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSJZu6PdJzs

Manach

Shrugs - given how prevalent the use of CPOs are.

keithcan

There are already two threads about this non-issue of Coillte being 'sold', which is gas considering it's not actually happening.

boards.ie > Soc > Politics > Irish Economy
Coillte "fire sale" & Bertie Ahern


boards.ie > Soc > Politics
Save our Irish Forests from being sold