Ten Forestry Facts

Ten key statistics from Forest Statistics - Ireland 2023 include:

1. In 2022, €70 million was spent by DAFM on forest activities including afforestation, maintenance grants, annual premium payments and grants for forest road infrastructure. This is an increase of €4.5 million on expenditure in 2021.

2. During 2022, 2,273 hectares of new forests were created. Cork had the highest afforestation area at 400 hectares, followed by Clare at 211 hectares.

3. The proportion of broadleaves in new forests created during 2022 was 43%, which was up from 42% in the previous year. A similar increase occurred in the Native Woodland Establishment scheme operated by DAFM, from 30% in 2021 to 31% in 2022. The creation of new native woodlands under the Woodland Environment Fund amounted to 406 hectares during 2022.

4. Farmers have accounted for 81% of private lands afforested between 1980 and 2022. Since 1980, nearly 24,000 private landowners have received grant aid to establish forests. The average size of private grant-aided afforestation since 1980 is 8.6 hectares.

5. In 2022, 62% of the area afforested was by people aged 60 years or more. While 59% of the total area that received premium payments was owned by people aged 60 years or more.

6. In 2022 the volume of roundwood removals was at 4.14 million cubic metres. Of the roundwood available for processing, 57% came from Coillte with the balance coming from the private sector.

7. The construction of 70 km of private forest roads was funded during 2022. This reflects the projected increase in timber and wood to be harvested, which is expected to double by 2030.

8. Felling licences were issued during 2022, for the thinning of 25,044 ha and the clearfelling of 23,009 ha. The area felling licences issued for clearfells in the private sector increased significantly from 8,278 ha in 2021 to 14,006 ha in 2022.

9. Approximately half of Ireland’s forest estate is certified by international non-governmental organisations to promote good forest practice. The vast majority of this area is in the public forest estate, with 31,057 hectares of private forest currently certified.

10. Forests and forest products play an important role in mitigating climate change by sequestering and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. In 2021, Ireland’s forests removed 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, a decrease of 0.7 million tonnes compared to 2020.

The Forest Statistics - Ireland 2023 Report is available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/15b56-forest-statistics-and-mapping/#annual-forest-sector-statistics