Forestry brings €1.6bn to national economy

FORESTRY now contributes over €1.6 billion annually to the Irish economy, it was revealed yesterday.

Research publications launched by COFORD, the National Council for Forest Research and Development, also predicted that forestry will make a significant contribution to Ireland’s greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Kyoto protocol.

Forestry Minister Mary Wallace launched the publications, which are based on research funded by COFORD under the National Development Plan, and carried out by research teams at UCC and UCD in collaboration with Coillte.

She said these reports show that forestry has come of age as a contributor to the economy.

“Wealth and jobs are flowing directly from forestry, with benefits to rural communities and the overall economy,” she said.

Ms Wallace said the research has also highlighted the significant added-value from forestry investment, with every 100 jobs providing a further 90 in other sectors.

She said that from the beginning of 2008, the Kyoto compliance period will begin.

“We have a forest resource that is set to remove about two million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air each year from 2008 onwards, with potential savings of €30 million a year to the Exchequer.”

“This contribution is being underpinned by the significant R&D investment — some €1.2m to date — that COFORD is making to develop the capacity to measure and report on carbon uptake in Irish forests,” she said. COFORD director Dr Eugene Hendrick said the research project captured the full economic contribution of the forestry sector at €1.65 billion, equivalent to around 1% of GNP, in 2003, showing that it is now a productive and profitable land use.