A PERIOD of calm after the storm has been called for by a Galway IFA representative in relation to the damage caused to plantations by Storm Éowyn last January.

Pat Lyons, Galway IFA Forestry Rep, told the Farming Tribune that considerable progress had already been made in relation to windblow issues over the past eight weeks.

He said that Minister of State, Michael Healy-Rae and the Forest Windblow Taskforce – set up in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn [Jan. 23/24] – had already made major progress in terms of putting practical measures to deal with the problems that had risen.

“This was our most severe wind events since Hurricane Debbie back in 1961 and what we require now is a team effort and cool heads to deal with the issues arising.

“Back when Debbie struck, the amount of land under trees was only a fraction of what it is today so we are dealing with a huge volume of plantations that were severely impacted on by Storm Éowyn and especially so in parts of the West of Ireland,” said Pat Lyons.

He added that the Dept. of Agriculture had issued very clear and straightforward guidelines as to what forest owners affected by windblow in relation to felling licences and had also undertaken to expedite licence processing for plantation owners affected by the storm.

Pat Lyons said that 50% of ‘knocked timber’ already had a licence for felling or clearing with good progress being made in getting licences for the remaining 50%.

“One thing we do need to watch out for is the overall market situation and to try and control timber output from plantations which weren’t affected by the storm,” said Pat Lyons.

Teagasc has advised plantation owners affected by windblow to put safety at the top of their priority list pointing out that a windblown forest is ‘a dangerous and hazardous place’.

The Dept. of Agriculture has advised all impacted plantation owners to get professional advice on their situation and not ‘to rush into any hasty decisions.’

They have also pointed out that an existing clearfell or thinning licence can be used for windblown plantations – however, for those with thinning licences only, they must notify the Dept. first.

The Dept. have also stated that there is no deadline for submitting windblown related licence applications and that windblown trees wills still retain their value for several months – deterioration only starts after trees have been on the ground for approximately 18 months.

Options are also being examined by the Dept. of Agriculture in relation to a reconstitution scheme – in the event of that coming into place any works undertaken prior to its introduction won’t affect payment eligibility.

Pictured: Pat Lyons: Good progress being made in aftermath of Storm Éowyn.