2022 forest planting 'far below where we need to be'

Earlier this year, the department launched the National Forest Inventory for 2022 which details that Ireland's forest estate is still expanding at 11.6% of the total land area. 

Last year's level of forest planting is "far below where we need to be", Minister of State Pippa Hackett has said.

In 2022, an additional 2,273 hectares of new forests were created, according to the Department of Agriculture's Forest Statistics Ireland 2023 report published this week.