Slow progress on EU's pledge to plant three billion trees by end of the decade

Remarkably, the figures put Ireland in joint first place with Belgium in the race to deliver the EU’s Three Billion Trees Pledge.

In 2015, only about 20% of licences took over 100 days to process; by 2019, that had increased to nearly 50%.

Who could believe that Ireland would become a poster boy for afforestation?

There has been a major decline in Irish afforestation in recent years. In 2020, 2,434ha of land were afforested, followed by 2,061ha and 2,273ha in 2021 and 2022, respectively. In 2023, the EU Commission took so long to approve Ireland's new Forestry Programme that afforestation fell to only 1,651ha.