Minister Healy-Rae emphasises “safety first” at second Forest Windblow Taskforce Meeting
- Published on: 12 February 2025
- Last updated on: 15 April 2025
The second meeting of the Forest Windblow Taskforce met yesterday in Backweston, Co Kildare, following its first engagement last week.
Minister of State for Forestry, Horticulture and Farm Safety, Michael Healy-Rae, said:
“It cannot be stated enough times that windblown forestry sites are extremely dangerous places. Forest owners should put safety first and not attempt to tackle this work themselves with chainsaws. Trees windblown can be under all sorts of tension and using large harvesting machines is the only safe way of getting this timber out.”
It is expected that a satellite imagery assessment will be completed shortly, and this critical piece of work will give an accurate picture of the scale of damage, which does appear to be significantly greater than that of Storm Darwin. The Minister stated how important it is to have a sawmiller around the table, to give an update from their perspective and welcomed the Irish Timber Council to the taskforce.
The taskforce was updated on early figures that have come back from some private forestry companies indicating that more than 50% of forests that have been damaged have a felling licence. The Minister said:
"While it is important that we look at all options to deal with expediting the licensing process it is clear that there is an area of windblown forests already covered by a felling licence and it is important now that, in as far as possible, the harvesting capacity is mobilised into these areas."
The group welcomed the information circulars that issued from the department this week. One of these gave directions on how to assess damage to forests , using freely available satellite imagery. The second circular gave details to registered foresters around how to submit applications for felling and road licences in areas affected by wind damage.
The Minister after the meeting said:
“The Taskforce members have been very constructive in their engagement and they have all put forest owners central during their contributions. They are all keen to drive on safely and ensure no forest owner is left behind."
The windblow taskforce will meet again next week.
Notes
The taskforce, chaired by the Minister is made up of stakeholders from Forest Industries Ireland, Irish Timber Growers Association, Teagasc, Coillte, IFA, Irish Forest Owners, Irish Timber Council, SEEFA.
The two circulars mentioned above are available at the following link: Forestry Circulars.
The department also published Windblow and Storm Damage Guidance for Forest Owners.