Deputy Boyd Barrett, who has been involved in organising a series of protests opposing the privatisation plan, including a 4000 strong demonstration in Avondale, Co Wicklow in April, had previously described the plan to privatise the harvesting rights to Ireland’s state forestry as “an act of cultural and economic sabotage.”

Deputy Boyd Barrett said it was clear that the government’s decision to roll back on the privatisation plan was a direct result of the scale of popular protests and campaigning, pointing out that the first indication that the government was re-considering the plan to sell Coillte’s harvesting rights, came in a comment from Minister Pat Rabitte, two days after the hugely successful Avondale protest.

Deputy Boyd Barrett paid tribute to the Natural Resources Protection Alliance, the Woodland League, Keep Ireland Open and whole range of other environmental, walking and community groups that had campaigned and protested over recent months on the issue.

However, Deputy Boyd Barrett said major questions still remained over the future of Irish forestry, pointing out the fact that successive government’s had “failed spectacularly in developing Irish forestry to its full potential, particularly in terms of meeting afforestation targets and realising Irish forestry’s enormous economic potential.”

Deputy Boyd Barrett said the victory of the campaign to keep Coillte’s harvesting rights in public ownership was only one battle in much a wider campaign stop the give-away of Irelands natural resources and state assets and to development those resources for the benefit of the Irish people.

Richard Boyd Barrett said:

“The government committed publically to sell-off the harvesting rights to Coillte in June 2012 under the EU-IMF Troika agreement, and re-stated their intention to go ahead with that sale several times since then. It is only because thousands of people joined protests, tens of thousands signed petitions and the vast majority of Irish people made clear their opposition to a disgraceful plan to privatise a precious public asset that the government have now backed off.”

All those who have campaigned and protested – environmental, campaign, community groups, and the public at large – deserve great credit for stopping this disgraceful plan to sell-off a precious and huge valuable natural resource.”

“However, beyond this victory in retaining our public forests in public ownership, we must now go on to demand that our public forests are developed to their full potential as amenities and as a resource that could generate thousands of desperately needed jobs and revenue for our society. Successive Irish governments have failed spectacularly to reach national afforestation targets or to generate the employment potential of Irish forestry.”

“We also need to go from this victory to campaign more generally against the give-away of Ireland’s natural resources, whether it be oil and gas, wind, fishing, or the equally disgraceful plans to sell-off parts of hugely successful and strategically important state companies such as the ESB, Bord Gais or Aer Lingus. These resources and state enterprises are precisely the vehicles the state needs to keep in public ownership and invest in, if we are to solve the dire unemployment crisis and help chart our way out of the current economic crisis.”

During minister’s questions today in the Dail, Minister Covney signalled that he will bring a report to cabinet today on the mooted Coilte privatisation plan and that a government announcement will follow.

Deputy Boyd Barrett urged the Minister to listen to the voices of the public and those who have protested across the country over recent weeks against the proposed privatisation of Coilte’s harvesting rights.

Richard Boyd Barrett, who has played a prominent role in organising recent protests against the harvesting rights privatisation plan said: “I would urge the government to do the right thing and listen to the voice of the public and those who have protested in recent weeks. They must abandon this scandalous proposal to sell-off the harvesting rights to our public forests.”

“There have been positive signs over recent weeks, particularly in the aftermath of the big demonstration we organised in Avondale, Co Wicklow, that public opposition to the privatisation plan was having a real impact on the government. So, let’s hope that people power wins out and that the government is listening to the people.”

“If the government decide to press ahead with the plan to sell-off our public forests they can be assured that the protests we have seen to date, will be nothing compared those that will follow.”

“Even if they do abandon the plan to privatise the harvesting rights, we will need to look closely at what they are proposing as an alternative and demand that there is now proper public investment to develop Irish forestry to realise its enormous potential to generate jobs, revenue and to help tackle the crisis of climate change.”

It will be a focus for protestors to gather and voice demands for global justice. So far, the ICTU is planning a march in Belfast on Saturday 15 June. A counter summit is being organised by G8 Alternatives on Sunday 16 June in Belfast. And a major protest is scheduled for Enniskillen on Monday 17 June.

There will also be public meetings around the country to help mobilise for the G8 protests. If you want to get involved contact 085 858 5292.

Download timetable for G-8 Counter Summit here

G8-Counter Summit Sunday 16th June

Ramada Encore Hotel, St Annes Sq Belfast

Timetable [ Tickets £5 ] Contact 075 9611 4612

10.00 – 11.00 Should G8 Run the World?

Eamonn Mc Cann (Journalist), John Holloway (Sociology lecturer & author of Change the World Without Taking Power)

11.00 – 12.00 Putin, Pussy Riot and the Right to Protest

Laurie Penny (Blogger, New Statesman journalist)

12.30 – 2.00 Why Inequality Doesn’t Work

Richard Wilkinson (Author of The Spirit Level)

3.00 – 4.00 From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Drones.

The case against war

Simon Assaf (Socialist Worker journalist) & others

4.30 – 6.00 Climate Change – How Can we Stop the World Burning?

Jonathan Neale (Author of Stop Global Warming, Change the World) & others

6.30 – 7.30 Austerity in the Fight of our Lives

Richard Boyd Barrett TD, Conor Mc Cabe (Irish Left Review, author of Sins of the Father), & speakers from Greece & Spain

The Natural Resources Protection Alliance and the Woodland League today announced that more than twenty “Walks in the Woods” would take place across the country this weekend, Sunday June 9th, in a national day of action opposing the proposed sale of the harvesting rights to Ireland’s public forests and celebrating public forest ownership rights.

Walks will take place in Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Galway, Donegal, Cavan, Galway, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Clare, Wexford, Wicklow, Laois, Limerick, Longford, Roscommon, Westmeath, Wexford (see below full list of locations and contact details).

The call for a national day of action on June 9th in local woods was made at the hugely successful “Walk in the Woods” in Avondale Co. Wicklow in April attended by over 4000 people – also organised by the Natural Resources Protection Alliance and the Woodland League.

The organisers of this weekend’s events say that while the Avondale protest and wider public outrage has clearly shaken the government, the Minister’s responsible, Brendan Howlin and Simon Coveney, had still failed to make any official announcement that the government was now abandoning its previous commitment under the EU-IMF troika programme to sell-off Coillte’s harvesting rights.

The organisers noted that the new junior Minister for Agriculture, Tom Hayes, when asked directly yesterday on RTE about whether the sale plan would go-ahead, gave an entirely non-committal answer – stating only the final decision would be “in the best interests of the country.”

The organisers said their campaign would continue until they forced the government to make a definitive announcement that the privatisation plan was being shelved and called on the public to join the national day of action this Sunday.

Richard Boyd Barrett TD for People Before Profit and one of the organisers of the Natural Resources Protection Alliance said: “It is absolutely essential that we continue to mobilise to demand that our national forests, and the harvesting rights to those forests, remain one hundred per cent in public ownership.”

“Neither the public nor the media should be taken in by off-the-cuff comments by certain government TD’s. The recent comment by Pat Rabitte, in the direct aftermath of the hugely successful Avondale “walk in the woods,” that the sale was “unlikely,” shows the government are under pressure on the issue but that comment is totally at variance with official statements by the Minister’s that will actually make the decision. The line Ministers, Brendan Howlin and Simon Coveney, have said repeatedly in the Dail over recent weeks that the sale of Coillte’s harvesting rights is still being “considered”.

The new junior Minister for Agriculture the Minister, Tom Hayes, when asked directly on RTE yesterday, refused to rule out the sale but said only that the minister’s decision would be “in the best interests of the country” – which means absolutely nothing.

There is no doubt that public opposition and people power have rattled the government and forced them to think twice about privatising the harvesting rights to our forests. However, we absolutely need to keep up the pressure until the government state clearly that this treacherous plan to sell a priceless public asset and piece of our national heritage is being shelved permanently.

Andrew St Ledger, PRO of the Woodland League who have played a leading role since 2009 in the fight against forest privatisation says, “Celebrate and exercise your Public forest ownership rights at one of the many National Walk in the Woods events on Sunday the 9th June, this is your chance to join the more than 53,000 people who have signed the Woodland League Petition against the sale of our Public forests as well as reform of forestry policy. Let this government know that your grand-childrens inheritance is not for sale at any price, remind them that they said the Public forests were safe in their pre – election promises “.

Andrew Doyle Fine Gael TD, after they were elected, emailed the following statement to the Woodland League, regards our on-going campaign, on the 18th January, “Our vital natural resources are not up for sale. National resources like forestry, agriculture and marine resources are held in trust for all the people of Ireland. Ministers are stewards of these resources and must return them to the people with benefits after their term in office that includes the forests of Ireland”.

Andrew St Ledger went on to say,” let the people have their forests Now and furthermore train communities to access their Public resource as part of a new forestry model, so it can be utilised as a bulwark against the extreme hardship and stresses caused by the austerity measures imposed on the weakest section of our society, this is the message coming from the awakening Public as they realise they actually own this asset. By walking in their forests they are reclaiming them from speculators and inept state stewardship”.

A full list of walks can be found here:

https://maps.google.ie/maps/ms?msid=214045336724331887141.0004dd6217afc0cb8cfa1&msa=0

Read Leaflet here:

• Leaflet Front June 9 Walks
• Leaflet Back June 9 Walks

The government also imposed a guillotine on this bill which does not allow for adequate debate and consultation and is further evidence the government wants to ram this bill through before workers vote on Croke Park 2.5.

The amendments submitted by Deputy Boyd Barrett, following consultation with rank and file trade unionists, would have seen the protection of workers earning less than 100,000, the protection of pensioners earning less than 50,000 and the shifting of the burden of cuts to those earning more than 100,000.

Deputy Boyd Barrett also submitted an amendment proposing the deletion of the section that would give the Minister draconian new powers to change the pay and conditions of public sector workers at a mere stroke of his pen.

The Minister in question is Brendan Howlin and it is extraordinary that a Labour Party member would propose and push through legislation giving himself the power to trample on the democracy of the trade union movement and the hard won rights of workers.

Richard Boyd Barrett said, “Today’s actions of the government are an outrageous abuse of democratic process, making a sham of the Dáil and parliamentary democracy.

It is utterly despicable that this is being done by the Labour Party in an effort to subvert the democratic decision of public sector workers who voted against the Croke Park deal.

It is even more disgusting that this is being done by the Labour Party on the 100th anniversary of the 1913 Lock-Out. Brendan Howlin has become the William Martin Murphy of 21st century Ireland”.

During the recent Oireachtas hearings on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, a number of groups who have concerns and amendments did not have the opportunity to participate.

The groups include, National Women’s Council of Ireland, Action on X, Abortion Rights Campaign, ICTU Women’s Committee, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Irish Family Planning Association, Irish Feminist Network, Cork Women’s Right to Choose Group and Galway Pro Choice Group.

TFMR (Terminations for Medical Reasons) is one of the groups and it represents couples and families who have undertaken terminations due to the tragic presence of fatal foetal abnormalities in much wanted pregnancies. These terminations had to take place abroad because of the current legal situation surrounding terminations in Ireland but such situations are not provided for in the Bill being proposed, something TMFR feel is a missed opportunity.

Richard Boyd Barrett TD, who was hosting the briefing said, “The Oireachtas hearings were an important opportunity for all interest groups to have their say and influence the provisions of the bill. It is unfortunate that groups such as TMFR were not invited to participate and today’s briefing will give them a chance to brief TDs and Senators on the issues around which they are campaigning”.