merrion street

Shane McEntee TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for forestry, launched a Report on "County Wicklow Private Timber Production Forecast & Market Assessment (2010-2028)", the outcome of a study jointly commissioned by the Wicklow Private Owners Group and the County Wicklow Partnership. The Report was launched in the Grand Hotel, Wicklow town.

Launching the Report, Minister of State McEntee noted the underlying objective of the study was to "collectively assist private forest owners in Wicklow, to optimise the potential value of their forestry resource" and he commended the authors, Purser Tarleton Russell Ltd in achieving this objective as he observed that the report appeared to be a very comprehensive examination of the issues with a range of recommendations to address those issues.

The Minister of State commented that although most forest owners may be relatively new to forestry, it was encouraging to note from the study that "they are keen to learn more about and get more involved in forest management" and he pointed out the potential merits of forest owners working together in fora such as producer groups which provides the "additional benefit in working together to get the best from their plantations and to learn from the experience of others."

Minister McEntee acknowledged the current challenging economic times but added "forestry remains a potential income generator – through the annual premium, returns from thinning and final harvest" and noted that "these are very interesting times to be involved in forestry with strong demand and new markets opening up in the renewable energy area".