The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued 104 afforestation licences so far this year, relating to 700ha of forestry.

The latest forestry data, up until Friday, March 14 shows that 83 afforestation licence applications were received by the department.

A total of 500ha of forestry were planted so far in 2025, compared to 273ha planted in the first full three months of 2024 and 195ha in 2023.

Under Ireland’s Forest Strategy 2023-2030, the afforestation target is 8,000ha annually.

A total of 202ha has been planted so far this year under the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback Scheme.

85ha was planted under the Woodland Improvement Scheme (WIS) and a further 5ha were planted under the Native Woodland Conservation Scheme.

The Social, Economic, and Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA) said that licencing "continues to show no real signs of improvement".

"We are almost halfway through the current forestry programme, which the previous government had guaranteed would revive the industry and solve the low number of licences issued.

"Three weeks out of the last six have all been just as bad as the 2022 and 2023 results, the worst in our industry's recent history," SEEFA stated.

"The new government cannot let this continue for too long. The mistakes of the past need to be corrected before there is no hope of any real recovery," the association added.

The department issued 161 private felling licences so far this year and 81 Coillte felling licences.

173 applications for felling have been submitted to DAFM by Coillte and 191 private felling licences have been sought.

A total of five licences have been issued for forestry thinning, relating to 52ha and 31 licences have been issued for clear fell forestry, relating to 242ha. Meanwhile, 98 licences have been issued for 106km of forestry roads this year.