The administration costs associated with planting a hectare of forestry have increased 11-fold since 2010, rising from €669/ha to an incredible €7,388/ha last year, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.

The massive hike in the relative cost of administering the forestry service between 2010 and 2023 is due to a doubling of the overall spend by the Department of Agriculture on running its forestry service, and a collapse in the area planted during this period.

The total cost of running the Department’s forestry service in 2010 was €5.56m. This equates to €669/ha for the 8,314ha of forestry planted that year.

However, the Department’s forestry spend more than doubled to €12.2m by 2023, but the area planted tumbled to just 1,651ha. The relative cost ballooned as a consequence to a massive €7,388/ha.

The higher administration costs are almost equivalent to 10 years of premiums for farmers who plant Sitka spruce and get an annual payment of €746/ha.

Spending on ecological services, which rose from €492 to €2.2m between 2018 and 2023, added to the hike in administration costs. However, the Department’s core costs also increased sharply during the 13-year period, rising from €5.56m to over €10m.

Figures on the Department’s forestry spend were released in response to a parliamentary question from Cork-based Labour Party TD Seán Sherlock.

In his reply, the Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, pointed out that the figures included yearly pay costs, as well as “travel and subsistence and overtime” of staff working with the Department’s three forestry divisions.

“Changes in regulatory requirements in relation to forestry licensing has necessitated an increase in resources,” Minister McConalogue maintained.

He pointed out that staff are involved in licensing, promotion, forest health and payments. They also engage at national, EU and international level on forestry policy issues and forest sector development.

The collapse in planting has been blamed by the industry on serious problems with the Department’s licensing regime, poor policy decisions and the treatment of growers with ash dieback.