Although only nine afforestation licences were issued last week, a total of 44 felling licences were issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The felling licences issued include 35 private licences, bringing the total issued this year to date to 244. Nine Coillte felling licences were also issued, bringing the total for this year to 103.

This follows on from 24 licences which were issued for felling last week, 22 for private felling, and two for Coillte felling.

The Social, Economic, and Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) has said that after "many months of underperformance", the uptick recorded last week "is long overdue".

"The aftermath of recent storms means more are required now than ever before, especially when the timber in need of felling is at a high risk of fire damage.

"We hope the department can continue to raise these numbers, and we ask for consistency in all areas to get the industry back to where it needs to be," SEEFA stated.

The additional nine afforestation licences issued up until the second week of April brings the total issued so far this year to 160, with 691ha planted.

This marks a significant increase on last year, however the afforestation target under Ireland’s Forest Strategy 2023-2030 is 8,000ha annually.

The figures from DAFM for afforestation planted in 2025 reflect afforestation that has been paid at first grant stage this year to date only under the Native Area Tree Scheme (NTAS).

A total of 114 licences have been issued under the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme, relating to 398ha of forestry. 46 licences were issued under the Deer Tree Shelter scheme (DTS) relating to 210ha of forestry.

A further 22 licences were issued under the Woodland Improvement Scheme (WIS) for 145ha and two licences were issued under the Native Woodland Conservation Scheme relating to 17ha.