Forestry battle: Leitrim makes most forestry license appeals in county

Leitrim made the most appeals against forestry practices of any county in 2024, according to a new report from the Forestry Appeals Committee.

Last year, 115 licence decisions were appealed across Ireland, 37 of which were made in Leitrim against afforestation, felling, and forest road licences. Leitrim topped the country in every category, with 22 appeals for afforestation licences, nine for felling licences, and six for forest road licences.

Of the appeals submitted in Leitrim, 23 were from the Save Leitrim group, which campaigns against over-afforestation and for stricter regulations on forestry planting practices.

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“The appeals mechanism is an essential element of the forestry decision-making process in Ireland,” said Michael Healy-Rae, the Minister of State responsible for forestry.

The Minister has also asked the Forestry Appeals Committee to prioritise appeals regarding licences for the felling of forests damaged by Storm Eówyn and Storm Darragh. It is not clear how many of these appeals have been launched in Leitrim.

Hundreds of thousands of homes across the country were left without power following Storm Eówyn, with counties like Leitrim and Roscommon among the worst affected.

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Save Leitrim has criticised the process for obtaining felling licences, pointing out that replanting and felling are included in the same licence. This means that if groups wish to object to a forest being replanted, they must also object to it being cut down in the first place — including forests that have already been windblown.

“This is one of the cases that Save Leitrim is making in its appeals,” said a Save Leitrim spokesperson. “If we have to appeal against a decision on a licence where there has been windblow, it’s not good forestry practice to go and do the same again when the site has proved that it’s not really suitable for that type of tree.”

The report outlines a breakdown of the forestry appeals process in 2024 carried out by the Forestry Appeals Committee, an independent appeals body for anyone who wishes to appeal the decision of the Minister to grant a licence for afforestation, felling, aerial fertilisation, or forestry road construction.

Over the course of 2024, 58 decisions were made on appeals. In 47 of those cases, it was decided that the licence should not have been granted and that the Minister’s decision was wrong.

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