More than 10,000 hectares of forests in Galway were damaged by Storm Eowyn and Storm Darragh, more than twice as much as any other province.
A satellite assessment of the damage done by the two storms estimates that the total area blown down will be in the region of 23,652 hectares.
Of that, 10,403 hectares are in Connacht, which was particularly hard hit by Eowyn especially.
This is followed by 5,219 hectares in Leinster, 4,400 hectares in Munster, and 3,630 hectares of destroyed forests in Ulster.
Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae said, “While we have known from information supplied to us from forest owners and forestry companies that the damage levels were going to be well in excess of the damage from Storm Darwin, this is the first statistically valid national assessment, and I wish to thank all those who have been part of putting it together.”
“I understand that a more detailed analysis is also underway that will give a forest-by-forest assessment with a much greater degree of accuracy.”
There is an approximately even split between public and private forests. It is estimated that ca. 10 million cubic metres of timber has been affected, predominantly in spruce plantations older than 20 years of age.
By way of comparison, in 2023, 4.3 million cubic metres of timber was harvested from Ireland’s forests.
The report by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and Coillte states that 19,425 hectares of the damaged forest are spruce, while 3,015 hectares are other conifer trees and just 1,212 hectares are of broadleaf trees.
The Forest Windblow Taskforce will meet for the third time next week, and will consider the findings of this report in the context of its ongoing assessment of the range of appropriate actions required by way of response to the scale of damage caused by Storm Eowyn.
Minister Healy-Rae said that existing clearfelling and thinning licences can be used by forest owners to deal with windblown situations immediately, and that health and safety advice has also been issued
“Having more than twice the annual cut on the ground represents an enormous challenge, but I have been impressed with the energy and commitment around the table to tackle every issue that this challenge presents.”
“I would also like to repeat what I have said on numerous occasions – this is a very difficult time for forest owners, but they can be absolutely assured that they are, and will continue to be, at the centre of all of our deliberations at every meeting of the Taskforce.”
