A significant problem with appeals to felling licences for windblown plantations is threatening to derail efforts to salvage timber from forests devastated by storms Éowyn and Darragh.

A recent meeting of the Forest Windblow Taskforce heard that at least 10 licences, and possibly more, have been appealed, many of these in Leitrim and other parts of the northwest that were particularly hard hit by storm Éowyn.

The development has compounded the difficulties facing plantation owners, as appeals to the Forestry Appeals Committee generally take between five and 14 months – and are generally successful.

Forestry groups have warned that plantation owners risk losing contractors who have agreed to harvest forests due to the delays associated with appeals.

The delay will also seriously impact the quality and value of the windblown timber, farmer groups pointed out. Fallen timber must be harvested within 18 months of being knocked to ensure any return from the market, experts have claimed.

Up to 26,000ha of forestry was devastated by storms Éowyn and Darragh, with 11m cubic metres of timber levelled. This equates to 2.5 times Ireland’s annual timber harvest.

A number of felling licence appeals have been lodged in recent weeks.

In one case, the forest owner received a felling licence on 29 April, but this was appealed on 15 May.

In another case, a felling licence was issued on 24 April, but it was withdrawn on appeal on 12 May.

The appeals, some of which were lodged by the Save Leitrim group, cite a range of factors including “inadequate and ineffective public notice” in contravention of the Aarhus Convention.

Worryingly, some appeals have challenged the conditions around replanting, and also questioned the validity of ecological reports which were carried out prior to the storms on the grounds that conditions have now radically changed due to windblow.

“The licensing system is a mess as it has been made much too complicated,” said John Roche of Arbor Forest Management

“Forests that have been damaged by recent storms need to be dealt with as quickly as possible to maximise value to the owner. A felling licence is a completely unnecessary requirement, and this needs to be changed immediately,” Roche added.

Derek McCabe of the Irish Forest Owners agreed.

“We are a laughing stock to other European countries who allowed harvesting of windblown timber with minimal red tape. The minister [Michael Healy-Rae] has now given oxygen to fringe groups to obstruct our members from recovering some value from their destroyed forests,” McCabe said.