It’s not Brit-bashing to question how we are managing our resources

KEEPING IRISH land in Irish hands is not an outrageous proposition. Foreign ownership of Irish property has been a potent agent in turning the issue of housing toxic, as indicated by the term ‘vulture fund’.

That can lead to simplistic charges, and arguments that stray dangerously close to isolationism. Overseas investment is critical to the survival of the Irish economy, but the notion of outsiders profiting from an industry that is the cause of widespread stress and frustration is nonetheless triggering.

If faceless foreign investment vehicles buying up apartment developments is emotive, the prospect of these funds doing likewise with thousands of acres of Irish land is no less significant.

Éamon Ó Cuív addressed the controversy around Coillte partnering with a British fund, Gresham House, in stirring historical terms, and his comments did show how quickly this debate could become snagged on ancient hang-ups.

Danny Healy-Rae duly groused about 800 years, but this was just an extreme manifestation of concerns in rural Ireland that have finally reached Leinster House.

That is in large part due to the coverage of the story in this newspaper, and to the diligence of a TD like Michael Fitzmaurice, who has shown again an astuteness in reflecting the real concerns of country people. This is not about Brit-bashing, but instead the fitness of the country to manage its own resources. Micheál Martin repeated in the Dáil this week what he said in these pages a week ago, that the State needs to buy more land for afforestation.

Ensuring that trees native to the country are planted is as important, and is a concern that has been repeatedly raised by experts in ecology and forest conservation. How the purchase of that land is handled is critical, though. A State body in competition with locals for the purchase of land will cause tension, but when those people are outbid by a powerful investment fund, then cries of privatisation will follow.

The role of Coillte in this has infuriated many, but the responsibility they share is one that the Government must bear, too.

Martin’s desire to find alternative ways of meeting the country’s climate commitments and forestry ambitions is in contrast to the robust defence of the deal provided by the Taoiseach.

Leo Varadkar highlighted the involvement of the State’s own sovereign wealth fund in the deal, but also tried to put some distance between his administration and the agreement, stressing the independence of Coillte.

However, he’ll have to do better than that.

This goes beyond the specifics of an arrangement that farmers warn will push up land prices.

It also exposes, yet again, how our bold intentions around the climate emergency are more about being seen to do the right thing than actually doing it.

Reforesting and rewilding Ireland is a worthy ambition, but also one that needs delicate handling, given the historical relationship between Irish people and land. It is an aim that should be preceded by engagement and discussion.

Once again, though, there is the impression of policy being made in whisper and slipped past an unsuspecting public.

It feeds suspicion, stokes hostility, and leads to a controversy that forces the Government into one more hapless round of explanations. Opposition to this deal is growing, and soothing words in the Dáil won’t mollify those angered by it.

In a fashion befitting this bumbling administration, they now look like being forced into a consultation that should have taken place before any agreement was struck with investors.

And this is not a decision that should be in the gift of a semiState body. This is a matter of national significance.

It’s a deal that farmers warn will push up land prices