Agriculture Department to launch forestry survey

Ten percent of Ireland is now covered in forest according to estimates by the Department of Agriculture.

The Department intend to carry out a national survey to verify this figure.

The portion of Ireland's landscape covered in forest has been rising steadily since the 19th century.

Over the past decade, private forest development has grown significantly with the introduction of European Union grant schemes.

It is hoped that the analysis of data on the country's forests will help provide information on biodiversity.