Some 48 forestry promotion projects have received funding of €1.53m over two years from the Department of Agriculture.

The results of the 2025/2026 open call for proposals for forestry promotion projects were announced on Monday by Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon and Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae.

The projects selected will promote many aspects of forestry in a variety of ways.

These include support for a forestry village at the National Ploughing Championships, promotion of agroforestry and continuous cover forestry, forestry as a career option, a year-long promotional campaign ‘there is a forestry project for you’, a continuous professional development model on the use of timber in construction, exploring barriers to women’s participation in forestry and, finally, forest and timber certification.

Minister Healy-Rae said: “I welcome this collaboration between the Department and our many stakeholders in promoting the benefits of the 2023-2027 Forestry Programme.

"I am also glad to note that many of the projects involve collaboration between organisations and groups and cover a wide range of topics, including afforestation, sustainable forest management, timber in construction, agroforestry, continuous cover forestry and the promotion of careers in forestry. I am happy to say that there is a good nationwide spread of projects.”

The benefits of the forestry programme to farmers and other landowners will be seen and these projects will help to address gaps in the communication of the programme, he added.

"Peer-led projects promoting the mutual benefits of forestry to landowners and farmers, as well as the sharing of information and good practice, will be of immense benefit in achieving our sustainable forestry targets.

"They will also bring great benefits to rural communities and to our environment and help to achieve climate change mitigation," Minister Healy-Rae said.