Just 25 forestry licences issued by DAFM last week
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) issued just 25 forestry licences last week, over half of which were for private felling.
This marks a significant decrease on the 56 licences granted by the department in the previous week.
According to the latest forestry dashboard, published by the department, 14 of the licences issued last week were for private felling, with no Coillte felling licences issued.
Up to May 9, DAFM had issued a total of 326 private felling licences and 113 Coillte felling licences for a total of 5,446ha.
The department issued six afforestation licences last week, down from 11 in the previous week.
This brings the total afforestation licences granted this year by DAFM to 189 relating to 1,478ha.
The data shows that 1,079ha has been planted in 2025. This figure reflects afforestation that has been paid at first grant stage this year to date only, including the Native Area Tree Scheme (NTAS).
Last week saw a further 5 licences issued for forestry roads bringing the total to 227 covering 78km. There has been 40km of roads constructed this year.
The figures also show that 153 licences issued by the department so far this year for the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme, relating to 521ha.
101 licences have been approved for the NTAS (111ha), 24 for the Woodland Improvement Scheme (151ha) and 51 for the Deer Tree Shelter scheme (223ha).
10 licences have been issued for the Climate Resilient Reforestation Scheme covering 60ha.
Two licences have been issued for the Native Woodland Conservation Scheme this year for 17ha.
The department has received 16 appeals relating to afforestation so far this year, 10 on forest roads and 7 on tree felling.
The Social, Economic, and Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) said that last week was a "shocking performance reminiscent of the unacceptably low levels of 2023".
"Although significant progress has been made over the past 18 months, performances like last week's simply cannot be allowed to happen.
"Even one week at this poor level can set us back months in achieving our environmental and economic objectives, undermining hard-won gains," it said.
The association has urged Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, Michael Healy-Rae and his department "to investigate the underlying causes of last week's disappointing licensing numbers".
"Immediate action is essential to prevent a return to the unsustainable licensing backlog and numbers that plagued the sector in previous years," SEEFA said.
