\ Adrian Melia
Since late 2019, forestry licences issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have decreased, leading to a dramatic fall in afforestation, harvesting and roading programmes.
As a result, forestry companies have laid off staff and sawmills have increased log imports to fill the timber shortfall. In addition, some harvesting contractors are out of work and since 2019, nurseries began exporting plants originally intended for the Irish afforestation programme.
Legislative changes, increased Department staffing of foresters and ecologists as well as increased resources to the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) towards the end of last year raised expectations that the forestry programme could be brought back on track in 2021, especially as licence appeals have become more manageable.