Prepare for timber harvest to double in the next decade

In 2015, with close to 80% of processed timber being exported, and 12,000 people employed in processing, the forestry and timber industry was worth €2.3bn to the Irish economy.

Not bad for a 100% indigenous industry, providing jobs to many parts of rural Ireland where employment is hard to find.

In recent years, timber sawmill companies have invested more than €200m in extra processing capacity, largely on the basis of an expected increased volume of saw-log from the privately owned forestry sector.