When it comes to trees, Ireland has deep roots. Forests once covered a massive 80% of Ireland’s land surface and there were laws protecting certain trees. Characters in early Medieval Irish alphabets were named after native trees and who would want to cut down a Hawthorn tree for fear of angering the faeries? But today, forests only cover 11% of the country. With a drive to increase that figure to 18% by 2050, the government view forests as an essential element to achieving net zero emissions by 2050… but is 18% of Irish land enough? And as we still need timber for construction and furniture making, how do we balance our forestry needs?
