As recently reported in the Irish Farmers Journal, the debate about the role of forestry in Irish farming landscapes is rumbling on. We have translated recent data into maps of the evolution in the amount of land receiving forestry premia in the past decade, and the number of hectares under forestry in each county.

To compare like with like, new figures published by the Department of Agriculture include a breakdown of the proportion of each county's area planted with forestry to date.

As illustrated by the planting drive in Co Leitrim in recent years, the county is now second only to Co Wicklow in terms of the share of its territory dedicated to forestry. Co Clare is the other county with more than 15% forestry.

By contrast, Co Louth and Co Monaghan are the only counties with less than 5% of their area planted with forests.

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Listen: Forestry – friend or foe?