Half of Ireland’s forests in private ownership, figures show

Just over half of Ireland’s forests are in private ownership for the first time, according to figures published by the Department of Agriculture.

The share of private forests in the national forest estate has increased by more than 7.9 per cent since 2006, with 411,484 hectares now in private ownership, compared to 397,364 hectares in public ownership.

The department said private forest owners are mainly farmers while those in public ownership are mainly owned by Coillte.

Ireland’s forests have reached 11.6 per cent of the total land area, which is up from 697,842 hectares in 2006 to 808,848 hectares in 2022 due to afforestation and natural development of semi-natural forests.

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The department published the latest national forest inventory on Monday, the fourth it has undertaken since 2004, which provides up-to-date information about the extent and changing nature of Ireland’s forests.

Broadleaf forests account for almost a third of Ireland’s forest estate, which is up by 5.9 per cent between 2006 and 2022, while conifer species represent 69.4 per cent.

Leitrim is the county with the highest percentage of forest cover at 20.1 per cent, while Cork has the largest forest area (92,471 hectares).

The age profile of forests is increasing, with 39.6 per cent of stocked forests being less than 20 years old and 30.4 per cent between the ages of 21 and 30 years.

Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State with responsibility for forestry at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said the national forest estate had now reached 11.6 per cent with “a wide variety of forest types present”.

“The increase in area is a result of afforestation and the natural development of semi-natural forests on areas such as those previously used for industrial peat extraction,” she said.

Ms Hackett said the Government’s €1.3 billion forestry programme showed its commitment to growing the forest estate with a target of 18 per cent cover by 2050.

“This is the biggest and largest funded forestry programme ever introduced by an Irish government, and it has been designed to emphasise close-to-nature forestry and to ensure farmers will be its primary beneficiaries,” she added.

“Farmers will receive premiums for 20 years in the new forestry programme, and the premiums themselves will be up to 66 per cent higher than the previous programme.”