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Lesser-known impacts of recent Storm Éowyn and the earlier Storm Darragh – both of which caused extensive damage to homes, buildings, infrastructure, and power supplies – are the additional damage they caused to State and privately-owned forests along the Western seaboard.
Evident in the 'larger-than-normal' volume of felled and uprooted trees – whose value and usefulness as timber dwindles as they await harvesting and transport to sawmills – mature trees lost to 'windblow' rapidly lose condition and usefulness for conversion into timber unless harvested and processed as soon as possible after felling.
Current estimates by industry experts put the volume of lost tree stock at 11 million cubic metres and possibly higher, a figure threatened by deterioration if not recovered and processed.
In this regard, an additional difficulty stems from the extent to which forestry contractors and timber hauliers have been overwhelmed by the urgency and demand for their services.
Particularly acute is the shortage of trained and qualified truck drivers and specialist timber harvester machine operators whose services would enable contractors, sawmills, and hauliers to attack the problem in an even more sustained fashion.
In that context, one leading supplier to the forestry and timber processing sector, Komatsu forestry equipment distributor, McHale Plant Sales of Birdhill, Co. Tipperary, has come forward offering support to any campaign that Coillte or timber harvesting contractors might initiate to encourage greater interest in forestry amongst young people and promote long-term careers in the timber processing sector.
To this end, Darragh O'Driscoll, the company's Business Development Director, said: "The further development and promotion of careers in the industry will become increasingly more urgent as Government looks to the expansion of our forests and an increase in State and private planting as a key element in offsetting harmful CO2 emissions and advancing Ireland's commitment to Net Zero."
