Forest industry tells government how sector can be saved

Some forest owners are waiting four years for licences

Tim Mc Carthy Chairman of Forest Owners Co-operative Society (FOCS) and forest owner who is currently waiting on a felling licence. Pic; Larry Cummins

Jobs are being lost, some farmers are selling their plantations on to multinationals, machinery is parked up, and contractors are left paying big bills to the banks.

These are just some of the knock-on impacts of the Irish forestry licence logjam which will be raised today by industry leaders meeting with former Scottish Forestry chief executive Jo O’Hara, appointed by the government to advise it on the forestry approval process.