Private foresters have called on the Department of Agriculture to explain why it is not issuing 100 felling licences per week, given that there is such a low uptake of afforestation and other schemes.

Just one afforestation licence was issued in the first week of May, according to recent dashboard figures from the Department’s Forestry Service.

However, private forestry companies claimed that while the number of felling licences issued had improved, the rate of approvals remained slow.

“While it is encouraging to see felling licence numbers picking up, and we should celebrate the one afforestation licence issued this month so far – which is a 100% improvement on March and April – private forestry companies are left wanting answers to some questions,” a spokesperson for the Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) said.

The spokesperson asked why the Department was not issuing the 100 tree felling licences per week given that it had not accepted any afforestation, ash dieback or forest road applications since 1 January.

The forestry body also called on Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to issue a planting plan for 2023.

“We are now into May and still no plan for the industry,” the SEEFA spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan has called on the Minister McConalogue to respond to forestry sector claims that just 14 growers had opted-in to the to the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme for growers affected by ash dieback.