 | |
| Company type | Statutory Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Forestry |
| Founded | December 8, 1988; 37 years ago (1988-12-08) |
| Headquarters | , |
| Owner | (on behalf of the Irish state) |
Number of employees | 862[1] (2016) |
| Divisions |
|
| Website | coillte.ie |
Coillte (/ˈkwɪltʃə/;Irish pronunciation:[ˈkəil̠ʲtʲə]; meaning'forests'/'woods') is astate-owned commercial forestry business inIreland based inNewtownmountkennedy. 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]
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 theMinister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine andMinister for Finance on behalf of theIrish 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:
According to the Coillte website, 20% of its estate is managed withbiodiversity 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]
In 2011, there was speculation that Coillte could be sold by theGovernment of Ireland as part ofcost-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]
In 2019, Coillte set up a not-for-profit entity, "The Nature Trust", as part of a native woodland restoration plan. In 2025, it was announced this would be shutting down.[15]
Coillte are [..] custodians of 7% of Ireland's land [..and..] have three high potential businesses: Forestry, Land Solutions and Medite Smartply
Land Solutions [..involves..] developing areas where our lands are suited to activity other than forestry
Coillte manages approximately 7pc of the country's land and 47pc of Ireland's forests
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
