The Government’s recently launched Project Ireland 2040 acknowledged the need to increase Ireland’s forest cover to 18% and establish 10,000ha of new forests annually.

Land availability reports demonstrate that these targets can be achieved without negatively affecting agricultural production. Forestry can actually benefit agriculture as it is acknowledged as the most important option to reduce agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the requirement for 10,000ha of new forests annually will need planning when you consider that there were only 5,536ha planted last year.

Achieving a viable planting programme will require a return to a more geographically balanced approach to afforestation, as outlined by Donal Magner (pages 50-51. It is no coincidence that the decline in afforestation, especially in Munster, has led to a drop in national afforestation. In addition, this has resulted in a skewed planting programme as pressure to afforest western counties has increased.

There are compelling economic, environmental and social arguments in favour of a more geographically balanced planting programme. This includes planting certain categories of unenclosed land and viable upland sites throughout the country where the evidence already exists in the performance of forests established over the past century.