Recent data from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on licence approvals may not provide much comfort to the forestry and forest products sector, but there are a few signs that the industry may be turning a corner.

Licences issued for afforestation, roads and felling provide mixed messages. There is little to be gained from comparing afforestation results for the current disastrous year with 2019, when planting was still less than half the Government’s 8,000ha programme.

Also, licences approved by the Department are meaningless if these are appealed and have to spend an indeterminate period with the forestry appeals committee (FAC).

The one positive to be taken from recent Department data is the fall in appeals to the FAC. There is still a backlog of 2,000 licence applications in the system according to Mark McAuley of Forest Industries Ireland (FII).

There are 700 appeals in respect of 500 licences awaiting decision by the FAC. The FAC heard an average of five appeals weekly during the period July to November 6 but extra resources have been promised to speed up this process.

The 4,345ha of afforestation licences issued last year resulted in 3,550ha of actual planting. Licences issued this year are likely to be around 3,600ha, resulting in some 2,300ha of planting. There is an onus now on the Department and forestry companies to work closely to speed up approvals and to ensure licences issued match actual planting, especially at a time when appeals are decreasing due to legislative changes.

At least 70% of licence approvals need to be planted, which means that an annual target of 1,200 licences should be the achievable goal over the next five years. Based on an average of 7ha to 9ha per application, this should provide licences for 10,000ha, with a take-up of 80% required to reach the Government’s programme.

Recent Department data indicates that the biggest fall in licence approvals during the year has been in felling. These will have dropped from 57,195ha in 2019 to close to 15,000 this year. Despite this, the Department claims to issue licences for close 4.0m m³ of timber, which probably means there has been a concentration on large harvesting lots and clearfells, especially by Coillte.

The reduction in appeals allows the sector some breathing space to return to a viable afforestation and wood mobilisation programme.

Free webinars on practical forestry issues

Timber sales and markets, forestry taxation and the value of forests and woodlands are just some of the topics that will feature in a new series of webinars organised by the Irish Timber Growers Association (ITGA).

Supported by the Irish Farmers Journal the FORESTRY.IE INSIGHTS webinars will feature experts in the fields of timber sales and agreements, forestry valuation and taxation, tree felling licence applications and procedures and other disciplines.

All Irish Farmer Journal readers need to do is register on www.forestry.ie/insights and FORESTRY.IE will provide information on how to join the presentations and discussions. The following is the list of upcoming webinars (all starting at 10am):

  • 25 November: Selling your Timber – to include information on timber markets and prices. Sales agreements, contracts and taxation also addressed
  • 2 December: Securing a tree felling licence will address application processes and procedures, along with other requirements and conditions.
  • 10 December: The value of your forest will include information on the forest property market, valuation considerations and taxation issues.
  • The series will be continued next year.

    “The aim of the webinars is to provide practical information on forestry matters that arise at critical stages in a woodland’s development,” said ITGA technical director Donal Whelan.

    “The series is aimed at forest owners and farmers who have forests and are intending to thin, harvest or sell timber and who may be looking for general guidance on issues to be considered.”

    All webinars are free of charge and Irish Farmers Journal readers will be kept informed of additional topics to be covered.

    We welcome suggestions on subjects for next year’s webinars.

    CJ Sheeran acquires Coolrain Sawmills

    CJ Sheeran Ltd has acquired Coolrain Sawmills in a deal signed recently by MD of CJ Sheeran Mark Sheeran and MD of Coolrain Sawmills Declan Hutchinson.

    Both businesses are synonymous with the timber industry in Co Laois and the Slieve Bloom forests. They are major suppliers of timber products to the Irish and UK markets.

    CJ Sheeran, Ireland’s largest pallet manufacturer, is based in Mountrath, while Coolrain – as the name suggests – is located outside the village of Coolrain in the foothills of the Slieve Blooms.

    “It is a significant piece of business for CJ Sheeran Ltd, which will take our overall number of employees to about 250 including the 70 workers in Coolrain Sawmills,” said Mark.

    “While we regard the business as international in outlook, our work is community-based, providing 250 jobs for people in Coolrain, Rathdowney, Camross, Mountrath andCastletown, along with other urban and rural areas in the county,” he said.

    “We are Ireland’s largest pallet manufacturer and recycler, supplying a diverse network of pallet users in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, medical device, technological, engineering and general manufacturing sectors.”

    While the deal guarantees a supply of sawn timber from Coolrain to CJ Sheeran, he said the company “will continue to purchase product from sawmills as usual and this relationship will remain the same”.

    Declan Hutchinson, who has been MD of Coolrain Sawmills since 1986, will remain with the company in his current role.

    Coolrain has ancillary divisions including gates, fencing, equine bedding, garden mulch, biomass and packaging.

    “We will continue to supply our customers in these markets,” he said.

    “This deal is good for both companies and copper-fastens us into the future as a strong, indigenous Irish company with increased export potential.”

    The value of the acquisition was not disclosed in a deal completed with the input of senior management from both companies along with Bank of Ireland, Mason Hayes Curran, Stephen Lynn & Co and PP Ryan & Co.