Ireland

Abstract

Just over 50% of the productive forest estate in Ireland is less than 25 years of age. The private component of this estate is even younger. Substantial Government and EU grant-aid has been the primary driver to the establishment of private forests. The major factor affecting the competitiveness of the forest – wood / non-wood / services – consumer chain in Ireland therefore is the limited current supply of raw material and the uncertainty about the future supply of roundwood from private forests. Most of these forests are less than 10 hectares in size and are located in inaccessible areas. There are concerns that, due to the lack of economies of scale, harvesting will not take place. The lack of silvicultural skills combined with the absence of an organisational structure among the majority of forest owners makes the economic harvesting and marketing of the timber output from the forests more unlikely. Species distributions of state and private forests are dominated by Picea sitchensis. While the species is suitable for a range of end-uses the opportunities to add value are limited. This is a barrier to the development of value-added enterprises. The development of enterprises using species other than Picea sitchensis is difficult due to the limited and irregular supply. The range of non-wood products and services that can be produced within Picea sitchensis forests is limited. The main problem and research question for enterprise development in the forest sector is to identify the appropriate organisational structure that will facilitate the economic harvesting and marketing of the timber output from small-scale forests. If this structure is in place a key barrier to enterprise development in the forestry sector will be removed. Research and development into value-added applications of Irish grown timber, in particular Picea sitchensis timber, is required to expand the market for that timber. Markets for a range of non-wood products and services need to be investigated further.