Latest news with #ForestIndustriesIreland
Agriland
7 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
Forest Industries Ireland elects new chairperson
Forest Industries Ireland (FII) has announced the election of its new chairperson. FII is part of Ibec, representing a mix of members across the Irish forestry sector. Mark Sheeran, managing director of CJ Sheeran Ltd, has been confirmed as the new chairperson. He succeeds Brian Murphy, chief executive of Balcas, who has served his term as the inaugural chairperson of FII. As chief executive of Ireland's largest pallet manufacturer, Mark Sheeran is said to bring a wealth of experience and leadership to the role. CJ Sheeran Ltd is also the owner of Coolrain Sawmills, giving him insight into the timber supply chain from raw material to finished product. Mark McAuley, director of FII, welcomed the appointment, stating: 'Mark brings a huge amount of experience and energy to the role. 'Mark is deeply committed to strengthening the entire forest products supply chain and building on the commercial success of an industry that has expanded significantly over the last two decades, driven by a growing supply of raw material and the ambition of family-owned firms which lead wood processing across Ireland. 'This experience aligns well to FII's commitment to supporting the continued growth of the Irish forest sector. "We need to boost tree planting rates in this country if we are to realise our environmental ambitions and secure Ireland's world-class timber supply for many years to come.' In accepting his new role, Sheeran said he has "strong hopes for the continued expansion of the forest products sector". 'Ireland enjoys key competitive advantages - particularly our ability to grow fast-growing conifers and access large markets in the UK and continental Europe with high-quality, competitively-priced timber products," he said. 'I'm also passionate about ensuring the sector fully embraces its environmental and climate-related potential. "Forestry and timber products are essential components of Ireland's growing bioeconomy and make a major contribution to achieving our climate action goals.'
RTÉ News
20-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
New machines to help clear storm damaged forests
Forest Industries Ireland has said more than 30 new timber harvesting machines have been brought into Ireland to speed up the harvesting of storm damaged forests. This brings the total to more than 70 harvesting machines working on wind blow sites in Ireland. In January, Storm Eowyn brought down over 26,000 hectares of forestry - more than two years' supply of wood. Irish timber processors are now saying that they should be able to work through the majority of this wind-blown timber within the next 18 months. "We are fortunate to have Europe's largest timber importer on our doorstep," said Mark McAuley, Director of Forest Industries Ireland. "In fact, the UK is the second largest importer of sawn timber products in the whole world. "Ireland's timber processors are now stepping up their production in line with the increased supply of sawlog stemming from storm Eowyn," he added. Mr McAuley said the Irish industry has the capacity to cope with the post-storm situation, and to process and market the increased supply of timber. "It is vital for the future of Ireland's forestry sector that the best possible outcome is delivered for forest owners impacted by the storm. "A well planned and measured approach to timber harvesting and marketing will help to deliver this," he added.
Agriland
10-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Timber demand to outstrip supply by 2050
Mark McAuley, director of Forest Industries Ireland (FII, is a man determined to see Ireland fulfil its its potential as a producer of timber, which, he notes, it is presently failing to even approach. He spoke to Agriland recently on the current situation with regard to the Forest Windblow Taskforce and the Irish forestry industry in more general terms, and it is this latter which causes him the greater concern looking into the future. According to McAuley, the shortfall between what is presently being grown in Ireland and what he believes can be grown is very much to the detriment of the country now and going forward. On a global basis, the supply of timber is forecast to tighten dramatically due to present sources, such as legacy forests, becoming exhausted, while a lack of reforestation worldwide will exacerbate the situation. The bigger picture Ireland is only a tiny component of the global forestry industry so, while we might consider the winter storm events as a major influence on the market locally, it is likely to have little impact – if any at all – on supply and demand in the larger world. However, as the supply tightens – as McAuley feels it assuredly will – foresters here will be in an excellent position to take advantage of higher prices, especially if they start planting now for a harvest in the mid-2050s. The value of timber is likely to increase dramatically over the coming years, according to Forest Industries Ireland, which is part of the business lobbying group, Ibec. There is, though, little appetite amongst Irish landowners to devote more ground to growing timber with the government's target of 8,000ha a year being woefully under-achieved. Currently, between 20-25% of that figure is being met. The problem is further aggravated by the legislation under which new forests are to be planted, which insists on generous setbacks from natural features and the allowance of space for biodiversity. This is reckoned to reduce the ground available for the crop itself by around 30%, meaning that more land needs to be planted just to stay still, and that is just not happening. No tradition of forestry McAuley notes that there is no one single reason for this lack of enthusiasm – it is more a compilation of factors which revolve around forestry not being a traditional enterprise within Irish agriculture. Other components of this aversion to forestry include the idea that landowners see themselves as asset managers as much as they consider themselves farmers and, by planting spruce, they are in effect taking land out of traditional farming for all time. This inability to return forestry land to tillage or grassland will weigh heavily with many farmers, who see themselves as guardians of their property for future generations, and it is a difficult objection to overcome. Nobody, though, is suggesting that entire farms are turned over to forestry. Meanwhile, the recent suggestion by Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, Michael Healy-Rae, that blanket bogs are planted was met with some reservation from McAuley. Forest Industries Ireland are not as enthusiastic about planting blanket bogs as Minister Michael Healy-Rae Instead, the FII director believes that it is the hundreds of thousands of hectares of marginal land scattered across farms throughout the country that is already available which should be converted to forestry. McAuley points to the many rush-strewn fields that farms, particularly in the west, are using for unproductive rough grazing, which he considers to be prime candidates for conversion, although areas of less than 5ha are likely to be unviable. Despite there being some disagreement between the minister and FII on detail, McAuley says Healy-Rae's enthusiasm and commitment to the industry is warmly welcomed. The minister is viewed as having a genuine interest in forestry and his attempts to shake the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine from its slumbers and bring it round to being of help to farmers, rather than a hinderance, are appreciated by industry stakeholders. How this plays out going forward is anybody's guess, yet it does provide a sensible base upon which to enlarge the debate as to quite how Ireland is to meet its obligations on carbon emissions as well as making the most of its potential as a producer of timber. No more single species cropping What everybody does agree on is that the days of large tracts of monocropped spruce are long gone and a more environmentally friendly regime has taken its place. However, according to McAuley, that too provides challenges and the continuing reluctance of farmers to contemplate forestry may well be a symptom of this. FII is of the opinion that this country will need to take another long hard look at land usage with forestry being considered in a much more meaningful way if timber is to contribute to the economy. A decline in timber production not only threatens Ireland's commitments to reducing carbon emissions but also puts pressure on the timber processing industry, which relies on the product as a raw material, as does that part of the energy industry that consumes biomass. Timber industry under threat There are two approaches available to the government when attempting to encourage forestry. The first is the carrot, and what is presently in place should be tempting enough, McAuley believes. The state will cover the expense of planting and will offer payments for the first 20 years to provide a continuation of income despite the landowner incurring no real cost over this period. After 30 years, the forest is felled, providing a large tax free lump sum before the cycle recommences. Teagasc has been keen to explain the value of timber to growers The size of that lump size can only increase as the squeeze on timber supply tightens. Looking forward 30 years, there are few willing to make a guess as to quite how large it will be, although the general consensus is that it will have grown significantly. However, McAuley draws short of recommending that a stick be applied, and Minister Healy-Rae has also expressed the opinion that farmers should be free to choose how they use their land. It therefore seems that, unless forestry as an enterprise becomes suddenly more attractive, and the stigma of taking land out of food production is lifted, Ireland is not going to make the most of the land that is readily available for the enterprise.
