Sir, Kevin Myers's article in An Irishman's Diary (July 26th) showed some insight into the current development of Irish forestry. Indeed, as stated in Kevin Myers article, Ireland was once a land of trees however, now only 8 per cent of our land area is under forest.
This is the lowest proportion of land area under forestry in the EU where forest as a total proportion of land area, varies from eight per cent in Ireland to 45 per cent in Greece. Ireland, however, has the most favourable climate for the growth of conifers in Europe. Also, it is accepted that there is approximately one million hectares of land in Ireland producing very little in the way of agricultural output and forestry is the best commercial and economic application for this one million hectares of Irish land.
The Irish Timber Growers Association (ITGA) was established over 18 years ago to promote private forestry and encourage more economic utilisation of this land resource. The importance of the forestry sector in the Irish economy is not generally recognised, as an estimated 16,000 people are currently employed in it and the contribution of the sawn wood and panel board sub-sectors has been estimated at £87 million. When these factors and others are considered, the real significance of forestry in Ireland can be appreciated and it is for these reasons that the ITGA is constructively supporting the development and expansion of Irish forestry.
There has been a traditional antipathy to forestry in Ireland by farmers for a variety of reasons, primarily rooted in our history as forestry was seen as the domain of the old landlords. This is obviously no longer the case however old attitudes are often slow to change. The strong reservations expressed by the IFA to forestry, often mirror these old attitudes rather than reflecting forward looking concerns. Indeed, the main reservation as expressed by John Donnelly, president of the IFA, in his recent letter (August 5th) has been well studied by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). This reservation that "the national forestry programme must not be at the cost of major rural depopulation and decline" has been refuted in the ESRI report entitled "The impact of Forestry on Rural Communities" undertaken by Brendan Kearney and Robert O'Connor.
In 1992 a field study was carried out for this report which compared a normal forest area, as represented by the Aughrim district of Co Wicklow, with a marginal farming area on the Mayo/ Roscommon border, which has suffered severe depopulation, with little forestry activity but has good potential for forestry. One of the report's conclusions was that forestry in the Wicklow area is a very important element in maintaining household income levels and the fabric of the local community. By contrast the experience of the West study area is one of low incomes and the decimation of its population and social structure over the years. The ESRI report states that forestry could have a role in helping to retain some of those leaving agriculture and in reducing under employment on farms, thereby assisting in stabilising the population and raising income levels.
There is no conflict between forestry and putting farm families and the viability of the rural economy to the forefront. This can be seen at a practical level in the Scandinavian countries. The ITGA recognises that we must now look to the future, so that the potential of forestry can be realised and the economic benefits can be enjoyed by the country. Yours, etc..
Technical director ITGA, The Plunkett House. 84 Merrion Square. Dublin 2.