The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) issued just five additional afforestation licences last week relating to 36ha of new planting.
The latest forestry statistics, published by the department, show that a total 314 afforestation licences had been granted up to August 9 for a total of 2,626ha.
Some 427 valid afforestation applications have been received by the department this year, after 12 more applications were submitted last week.
The department said that 961ha of land had been afforested up to last Friday, up 52ha on the previous week.
It was noted that figures for afforestation planted in 2024 only reflect afforestation that has been paid at first grant stage this year to date, including under the Native Area Tree Scheme (NTAS).
DAFM
The department issued 20 additional felling licences last week, the majority (13) were for Coillte plantations.
654 private felling licences and 528 Coillte felling licences have been granted by the department so far this year.
Up to August 9, DAFM had received 462 applications for forest roads, while 542 licences have been issued year-to-date (YTD), including 16 last week, for 202km of roads.
Commenting on the latest licensing data, the Social, Economic and Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) said that last week marked a 78% decrease in hectares licensed for afforestation.
“The year has yet to produce a single week that meets the annual target pace, and every slight improvement is soon followed by more disappointment.
“We are almost a year into the new forestry programme, and yet the government has not managed to secure any meaningful consistency, clear the backlog, or improve confidence in landowners, farmers and investors,” the association said.
The forestry data shows that an additional 6 licences were granted for the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme bringing the total so far this year to 528 licences for 1,904ha.
There has been 275 licences issued for the NTAS (301ha) and 114 for the Woodland Improvement Scheme (WIS) covering 588ha.
173 applications have been granted under the Deer Tree Shelter Scheme (DTS) corresponding to 760ha.
Up to August 9, the department had received 35 afforestation appeals have been received by the department so far this year, along with 17 tree felling appeals and 6 in relation to forestry roads.