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The State, through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, plays a significant role in the development of Irish forestry. One outcome of State investment aimed at expanding forest cover over the last few decades is that harvesting activity across the country will increase significantly in the years ahead. Through innovation and hard work, timber processors weathered the impact of the downturn in construction in the late 2000s and continue to develop their businesses and markets.
While the impact of Brexit on timber exports to the UK has yet to be determined, other developments may provide opportunities for the sector. These include the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme and flexibilities provided for in EU proposals for climate change mitigation.
The role of the Department in the future development of the sector includes working with stakeholders to fully exploit the opportunities that exist and to mitigate as far as possible any risks that can be identified.
It is vital that existing forests reach their potential and in an effort to provide information to private forest owners to help them realise the financial impact of harvesting early, a felling decision support tool was launched by Minister of State Andrew Doyle in January. This tool allows forest owners to clearly see the financial impact of forest management decisions and in doing so aims to guide the owner in a direction that will deliver more volume to the market.
The Department supports the mobilisation of this private timber resource through the provision, under the current Forestry Programme, of increased funding for the construction of 690km of new forest roads. The programme also includes measures covering special construction works, connecting to existing forest roads and provision for additional stone at entrances.
When seeking to plan for the future, information to assist policy and decision making is crucial. The All-Ireland Roundwood Production Forecast 2016-2035 published by COFORD in October 2016 makes an invaluable contribution to this process. The tables included in this document provide the forest and wood energy sector with an accurate forecast of roundwood and wood fibre availability. Data used in the forecast has been plugged into an innovative mapping tool, or GIS portal, that allows timber processors to forecast timber volumes in user defined areas over time, broken down by species and harvesting type.
The availability of information on markets and price trends is also necessary for forest owners. The Department has supported the Irish Timber Growers’ Association in conjunction with UCD in preparing and maintaining the Wood Price Quarterly, which is a table showing private average roundwood prices received by private growers.
Other initiatives include the recent launch by Minister of State Doyle of a pilot study to establish a Knowledge Transfer group network in order to support forest owners in managing their own forests. The Department’s forest certification initiative will also help consolidate the private forest estate by creating certification groups and facilitating access to the timber market. The creation of these certification groups organised around existing forestry groups will help develop forest management plans according to best forest practices.
While the promotion of afforestation and measures to encourage and assist timber mobilisation are key objectives, the Department also seeks to assist other elements in the forest supply chain, for example, through support for the development of a training course for forest machine operators at the Teagasc Agricultural College in Ballyhaise, Co Cavan, the introduction of a new scheme to support the installation of central tyre inflation systems on timber lorries and support for the publication of guidelines on safe timber haulage.
To ensure continued expansion of the forest sector, the Department, in conjunction with stakeholders, is reviewing three key policy documents, namely Mobilising Ireland’s Forest Resource, Land Availability for Forestation, and Forests, Products and People: Ireland’s Forest Policy – a Renewed Vision.
The outcome of this process should inform the Department and assist it in maximising the effectiveness of its support of the Irish forest sector.
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