Just recently – in September 2026 – data from the Central Statistics Office of Ireland for 2025 were published. They indicate that Irish sawmills and processing plants purchased a record volume of raw timber: 3.81 million cubic metres, which is 7% more than the year before. This historic increase was driven precisely by private forest owners, who sold 1.61 million cubic metres of timber from their stands – the highest volume in the last decade. Sales volumes from state forests fell by 137,000 cubic metres, reaching their lowest level since 2021: 2.2 million cubic metres.
The main cause of this sharp turnaround was Storm Éowyn (Éowyn), which hit Ireland in January 2025 with wind gusts reaching 142 km/h (39 m/s). Former Minister of State for Forestry, Michael Healy-Rae, pointed out that in one night, the storm blew down as much timber in Ireland as is usually harvested in 2.5 years. In total, more than 26,000 hectares of forest were affected, nearly half of which belonged to private individuals. Due to the storm, a huge amount of lower-quality timber entered the market. The largest 'leap' was in roundwood for firewood, with procurement rising by 94% to reach 340,000 cubic metres, the bulk of which was supplied by private owners – an increase from 97,000 to 242,000 cubic metres. Despite this, larger-diameter sawlogs still accounted for the largest share of the total market: 42% or 1.6 million cubic metres.
Support programme for the restoration of storm-damaged forests
This is a €55 million initiative, launched in April 2026 by Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, the main goal of which was to provide financial assistance to forest owners so that they could restore the areas devastated by Éowyn in January 2025.
Familiarising oneself with the conditions and practical operation of the programme reveals several important aspects and limitations that forest owners must take into account. Acceptance of applications for the programme began only 15 months after the storm – in fact, in May 2026. This time delay meant that many forest owners were left in uncertainty regarding the receipt of state support for a long period, while a large portion of the timber already had to be cleared and sold on the market at significantly lower prices – especially in the energy wood segment.
It should be emphasised that state funding is not paid out immediately. The programme's rules stipulate that the final tranche of funding – a quarter, or 25% of the total grant amount – is only paid to the forest owner four years after the new trees have been planted and official confirmation has been received. This means that owners must be prepared for long-term co-financing and possess the patience to wait until the state fully reimburses the promised expenses.
The current storm-damage programme operates as a separate, emergency measure, as Ireland's next official national Forest Programme will only start on 1 January 2028. Consequently, these €55 million serve as a temporary financial bridge to fill the gap until the introduction of the new forestry policy guidelines.
Although the programme helps to restore devastated forests, owners must comply with current state policy, which strictly restricts the planting of conifers – especially Sitka spruce – while giving preference to native broadleaved trees. This means that owners will most likely not be able to restore forests with the exact same stand composition as existed before the storm, as the state currently prioritises forest diversification and the mass introduction of native species. This programme is critically important for Irish foresters, as the storm affected more than 26,000 hectares of forest, nearly half of which belonged to private owners for whom state financial support is crucial for regaining forest productivity.
Irish forestry at present
Currently, the Irish forestry sector is at a transitional stage, where a short-term abundance of raw materials is intertwined with serious concerns about the sustainability of future resources.
As we indicated earlier, the Irish forestry sector is still dealing with the problems caused by the storm. The process of the national government's forest restoration programme is very slow. Ireland is seeing a sharp decline in plantings of the commercially advantageous Sitka spruce – from nearly 13,000 hectares in 1993 to a mere 701 hectares in 2025. Although this species grows quickly in Irish climatic conditions, it is very sensitive to windthrow. Instead, the state now prioritises support for planting native broadleaved trees, which last year accounted for nearly two-thirds of new areas. The rapid shift towards broadleaves has created a serious conflict between environmental goals and the industry. Industry organisations, such as SEEFA and Forest Industries Ireland, are sounding the alarm that the rejection of commercial conifer planting will leave the Irish without local building materials in the future. This, in turn, directly threatens the government's ambitious plan to build 300,000 new homes by 2030, in which local timber is stipulated as the priority material to be used.
State and private forests
While state forest harvesting volumes fell by 137,000 cubic metres, reaching their lowest level since 2021, the private sector experienced rapid growth. As a result of these changes, the share of private forests in the total market rose from 35% to 42%, while the state sector's share fell to 58%.
The storm affected both sides similarly – out of a total of 26,000 hectares of damaged forest areas, nearly half, or just under 13,000 hectares, belonged to private individuals. However, it was private owners who were able to react more promptly and sell larger volumes of storm-damaged timber on the market. This is evidenced by the fact that the volume of larger-dimension sawlogs from private forests rose by a fifth, or 20%, within one year, reaching 682,000 cubic metres.
The greatest difference between the two sectors was observed specifically in the firewood segment. While state forests only increased their supplies of this product by 19,000 cubic metres, private forest owners provided a massive volume.
In the long term, this trend is not accidental. Since 2016, state forest supplies have actually decreased slightly – by 54,000 cubic metres – whereas private forest volumes have grown by an impressive 141% over ten years, successfully closing the historical gap between the two types of ownership.
Irish forestry goals until 2035
The future development of the Irish forestry sector is currently dictated by the 'Wood-First' roadmap, which the government approved in the summer of this year. The strategy has been developed to link natural resource extraction with the country's major economic and social solutions.
The main strategic goal is to have Ireland's total raw timber production reach 7.8 million cubic metres per year by 2035. For comparison – currently, the country's total production level fluctuates around 5 million cubic metres, which means that over the next nine years, the sector must provide a capacity increase of approximately 55%. This increase in timber extraction is directly tied to the state's goal of building more than 300,000 new homes by 2030. The government's new policy stipulates that Irish-grown timber is the very first material that state institutions and public partners must evaluate and use in the construction of new buildings and infrastructure, reducing dependence on imported building materials.
To ensure the sector does not exhaust timber resources once the aftermath of the recent storm has been fully dealt with, the state is planning a transition to the next national Forest Programme, which will officially start on 1 January 2028. Its task will be to stabilise planting rates and secure funding for forest restoration.
The achievement of these goals is seriously threatened by the current forest planting crisis. As the planting of the most commercially valuable Sitka spruce has experienced an almost total collapse and two-thirds of new areas are now occupied by ecologically valuable but slow-growing native broadleaved trees, forest industry representatives are openly warning – the country may soon suffer from an acute shortage of local conifer sawlogs, without which the construction of planned house frames and the 2035 production targets will be unrealistic.