Coillte has harvested around 2,200ha or 15% of its windblown plantations and it will take until 2027 to complete this work.

The State forestry company had estimated in September that around 3,000ha of the 14,500ha damaged by storms Éowyn and Darragh had been harvested.

However, this figure has now been significantly reduced.

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“Storm Éowyn caused unprecedented levels of damage to 14,500ha of the Coillte forest estate,” a spokesperson said.

“We estimate that we have approximately 15% of storm damaged forests clear-felled to date and this complex work will continue to into 2027,” the spokesperson confirmed.

Coillte explained that the “3,000ha figure” quoted in September was “an estimate based on production figures, but this latest figure (c.15%) is based on more accurate satellite imagery”.

The slow pace of the salvage operation is bad news for both Coillte and thousands of private plantation owners impacted by the two storms.

Many private foresters are already struggling to get contractors to commit to harvesting their windblown plantations. Delays in harvesting the Coillte windblow sites means that crucial harvesting machines will now be tied up for longer than anticipated.

The delays also have implications for the quality and value of the timber on the ground.

The general consensus at the time of the storms last spring was that all fallen wood would have to be harvested within 18 months, in order to salvage some value from the trees. This gave the owners of plantations until the summer of 2026.

However, Coillte’s admission that the salvage operation will extend into 2027 means much of the timber knocked in the storms is now likely to be of little value by the time the windblown plantations are harvested.

The total area of windblown forests is estimated at around 26,000-27,000ha, with around 12,000ha owned by farmers and private foresters.

Meanwhile, the IFA has expressed frustration that the windblow reconstitution scheme has still not been launched. The scheme aims to subsidise the replanting of forests severely damaged in last winter’s storms.

While details of the package have not been released by the Department of Agriculture, it is understood that the scheme will be worth in excess of €11m a year for four years.

Grant rate

It is envisaged that the replanting grant will be set at very close to the levels currently available in the forestry programme. This would set the grant at €3,858/ha.

The scheme was finalised in early October by the forestry division, but has not gotten clearance from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

“Additional funds from the revised National Development Plan were promised by Minister Martin Heydon in July to assist Minister Healy-Rae fund the forestry windblow reconstitution scheme,” said IFA forestry chair Padraig Stapleton

“No further information has been circulated to date on the proposed scheme,” he added.

Stapleton called on the Department to launch the scheme as a matter of urgency.