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THE IRISH FORESTRY and Forest Products Association (IFFPA) has warned of the potential impact the continuing decline in the planting of new forests will have on the industry.
In its annual review published today the association, which is part of the Irish Business and Employer Confederation (IBEC), says that it has “repositioned” itself as a major exporter.
In 2011, 77 per cent of forest products which were manufactured in Ireland were exported with a total value of €286 million.
The Irish industry was the largest exporter of MDF wood to the UK.
However the IFFPA has warned that the country may not have enough indigenous raw material in the coming years to meet demand in the market with the 6,653 hectares of new forest planted in 2011 a 20 per cent decline on 2010.
The government is targeting an increase in forest cover from 10.6 per cent in 2011 to 17 per cent by 2030 in a move which theoretically could create a number of jobs in rural parts of the country.
The forestry sector currently employs just under 12,000 people in Ireland.
But IFFPA director Marian Byron said: “Investment in planting must be accompanied by investment in the necessary infrastructure to get product to market. This will include investment in harvesting infrastructure and in forest roads.
“The industry has demonstrated a genuine capacity to develop export markets, generate wealth and create sustainable regional employment.
“IFFPA maintains that the realisation of Government afforestation targets alongside the required infrastructure development to mobilise raw materials to market, in conjunction with a supportive regulatory framework, will facilitate the continued growth of the sector.”
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More natural forests are needed
Instead of plastic ones.
Are they talking about forests or the sterile non-native conifer plantations which blight our landscape and threaten the survival of species such as Hen Harrier? Judging the reasoning behind the groups in question I’m reckoning they’re talking about the plantations rather than native or semi-natural woodlands rich in biodiversity.
Special branch should look into this.
i think they are on leave at the moment
Its not the number of trees being planted but how bio diverse the forests are. Acres of conifer plantations do more environmental harm than good
Here we go, a report to soften us up for the privitisation of Coillte, the largest single landowner in the State
That’s a great pic of lough Tay in county Wicklow. A member of the Guinness family has a wonderful house down there, although he may have passed away. I have cycled and hiked over these Wicklow mountains and really feel that they should be covered in forests. This land was covered at one time with oak and other trees. The govt needs to get the finger out and start to increase Irish woodlands. If you leave the land alone the trees will come back naturally.
Jim Jameson
Why would you need to be softened up for a Government sale of the collet harvesting rights? Have you seen the appalling Annual Reports over the last few years?
In 2011 they had sales of 259 m and only managed a profit of 19.9m and this is with free land a story wen a massive one million acres.
Worse than this their pension fund has a shortfall of nearly a hundred million Euro. How do you manage that trick with just one thousand employees? The answer is simple ……..make it a publicly owned enterprise and they’ll just milk it for all it’s worth.
See the harvesting rights for up to two billion and let someone else do the real job of managing the business as that clearly hasn’t been done for some time.
We get to keep the land. We get money for new investment in the economy and the workers get their pension funds fixed.
With proper management exports will increase and the State will accrue further profit taxes.
Simple.
….sell the harvesting rights….. Mea culpa
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