Galway received most amount of national forestry funding at over €300k

Co. Galway has been allocated the most amount of forestry funding nationally, at a total of €312,933, for capital projects and general maintenance at Coillte managed parks.

A total of €115,000 of the funding is going toward a 1.9km trail at Castlegrove, which follows a proposal for an upgrade to tar and chip.

The funding will be used for works including site preparation and grading of the existing track, along with drainage improvement works.

The rest of the funding will be spread across the county for general maintenance of forest parks.

The investment is part of a strategic partnership between the Department of Rural and Community Development (DCRD) and Coillte, providing funding of €3 million to develop and upgrade visitor and recreational amenities at Coillte forest parks across Ireland.

Forestry funding

Co. Cavan received the second highest amount of funding per county nationwide, with €245,268 allocated for capital and maintenance works.

Deerpark in Virginia has gained a significant amount of this funding, at €200,000, which will be used for development of a new car park entrance – including design and construction.

The remaining €45,268 will be used for general maintenance works across other forests in the county, including the removal of “dangerous ash trees” along trails at Killykeen Forest Park, and riverbank restoration work to protect trails at Dún a Rí Forest Park.

Total funding allocated for each other county is as follows:

A further €236,640 will be distributed around the country for other maintenance works, such as recreation facility upgrades, signage design and upgrades to various sites, along with updating websites and maps.

Forest parks across country will see improvements to car parking facilities, installation of footbridges and new toilet facilities.