The timber shortage as a result of the backlog in licensing is threatening the future of the forestry industry, IFA president Tim Cullinan has said.

The comments came while addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, with Cullinan detailing how over 1,000 farmers are caught up in the forestry licence crisis and are facing delays of up to two years.

The IFA delegation called for sustainable and timely management of forests as an essential process in optimising timber production and the economic return.

The exporting of timber is worth up to €500m annually to the Irish economy.

Sector proposals

Cullinan said: “The Department has introduced a two-tier system where larger applications are dealt with as a priority. This discriminates against farmers with smaller forests on their farm. This policy is unacceptable.”

The IFA laid out the following proposals to be introduced as a matter of urgency:

  • No farmer should have to wait longer than four months for a license.
  • A review of the appropriate assessment screening process.
  • The introduction of a cost-based planning support.
  • That legislation be amended to introduce new exemptions for activities such as forest road construction.
  • IFA forestry chair Vincent Nally said the backlog is jeopardising jobs and businesses in the sector.

    “Sawmillers are being forced to import timber when we would normally be self-sufficient, and this could endanger the national forest estate if pests or disease are brought in.”

    Ash dieback

    Also on the meeting’s agenda was the impact of ash dieback. The IFA claims the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (RUS) is inadequate in compensating forest owners for the financial losses incurred.

    “The current scheme is forcing farmers to manage a dying crop and to invest money that will give minimal returns. The latest research suggests the best approach is to harvest the remaining timber and to replant the area with other species,” Nally said.

    The IFA said all plantations must be eligible for a 100% reconstitution grant, forest premia paid on replanted land for 15 years, and for farmers to have the option not to replant.

    Nally called for the re-introduction of the farmer premium differential, which he believes would help address some of the opposition to forestry, through contribution to local employment.

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