The Department of Agriculture has not ruled out some level of support to replant forests which were badly damaged by storms Éowyn and Darragh.

Asked by the Irish Farmers Journal if such supports were being considered, a Department spokesperson said a decision on replanting supports will be taken once the full extent of the damage from storms Éowyn and Darragh is ascertained.

“This initial damage estimate, along with the more high-resolution satellite images that will become available over the coming weeks, will inform any necessary next steps including the consideration of any potential support for affected forest owners,” the Department spokesperson said.

However, the Department confirmed that discussions on “additional supports were ongoing”. In September 2016 a reconstitution grant of €1,700/ha was introduced to help forestry owners impacted by storm Darwin which hit Ireland in February 2014.

The storm damaged around 8,000ha of forestry, bringing down around 2m cubic metres of timber. Storms Éowyn and Darragh knocked 23,650ha of forestry, with around 10m cubic metres of timber impacted.

In a positive development for farmers, the Department reiterated that forestry owners who have started to clear their damaged forests will not be excluded from any future support package.

Taskforce

“At the recent [windblow] taskforce meeting the Minister [Michael Healy-Rae] confirmed that any work undertaken now will not affect eligibility for potential future assistance,” the Department spokesperson confirmed.

This clarification was described as “very welcome” by John Roche of Arbor Forest Management, as “it is allowing people to get on with the work of clearing their forests”.

However, he said forest owners needed to know as soon as possible if there is going to be a reconstitution scheme and what it involves. “It is very important that we get clarity as soon as possible on whether there will be a reconstitution scheme,” Roche said.

“Forest owners are working in a vacuum at the moment,” he added.