Minister Michael Healy-Rae confirms up to €55 million will be available to private forest owners affected by Storms Darragh and Éowyn through new Reconstitution Scheme
- Published on: 10 December 2025
- Last updated on: 10 December 2025
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Michael Healy-Rae TD and Minister Martin Heydon, have announced a new Reconstitution Scheme for private forest owners affected by Storm Darragh and Storm Éowyn.
Minister Healy-Rae stated:
“Storms Darragh and Éowyn have inflicted significant damage on forests around the country, resulting in real challenges for forestry. The volume of timber normally felled over a 2.5 year period was blown down overnight during storm Éowyn in January 2025. While I welcome the significant effort and progress made to date by the forestry sector in the mobilisation of windblown material in forests, it is clear that financial support is required for private forest owners affected by these events.”
Satellite imagery assessments following these storms indicated that damage was caused to 26,050 hectares of forestry, and of that, almost 13,000 hectares are in private ownership.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, said:
“I welcome this scheme which will provide financial aid to private landowners whose plantations were damaged by storm force winds that occurred during Storms Darragh and Éowyn. It will provide a grant to forest owners for replanting with either conifer or broadleaf species, or a mixture of both. I encourage all private forest owners affected by Storms Darragh and Éowyn to avail of this comprehensive Reconstitution Scheme. This will be vital in helping landowners to restore their forests’ potential.”
The level of support under the Reconstitution Scheme for windblow depends on whether the forest was insured for the costs of reconstitution at the time of the storms.
Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae concluded:
“This Reconstitution Scheme contains an attractive package to enable payments to forest owners for replanting their damaged forest areas. The grant rates offered will reflect the replanting species and will mirror the planting grant rates paid through my Department’s Afforestation Scheme. Landowners who have already replanted, or are in the process of doing so, are eligible to apply for this scheme retrospectively once they satisfy the qualifying criteria.”
Applications for the scheme will open in early 2026.
Notes for Editor:
- Following Storm Darragh and Storm Éowyn during the winter of 2024/2025, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, and Minister of State for Forestry, Horticulture and Farm Safety, Michael Healy-Rae, invited key stakeholders to join a taskforce to ensure that storm-damaged forests were managed safely and appropriately.
- The Forestry Windblow Taskforce was set up to quantify forest damage and to identify approaches to facilitate the mobilisation of wind-damaged timber. It comprises stakeholders representing forest owners, forestry companies, Teagasc, and Coillte. It has already met seven times and is leading a coordinated response to the storms, with particular emphasis on dealing safely with the large areas of forest that have been blown down.
- Satellite imagery assessments are indicating that the damage caused by Storms Darragh and Éowyn extends to 26,050 hectares of forestry, and that almost 13,000 hectares of this is in private ownership.
- The Specification Document and application form will be available to view on the Department’s website in early 2026. Applications will be made through a registered forester.
- The grant is proposed to be paid in two instalments: 75% of the grant in the year of replanting and the remaining 25% after four years. The rates are outlined below.
|
Replanting Species |
Grant per ha |
|
Native Forests |
€6,744 |
|
Broadleaf, mainly oak and beech |
€6,744 |
|
Diverse Broadleaf |
€4,314 |
|
Continuous Cover Forestry |
€5,421 |
|
Mixed high forests: Diverse Conifer |
€4,452 |
|
Mixed high forests with Sitka Spruce and coniferous high forest |
€3,858 |
- Applicants to the scheme will need to hold a valid felling licence. The conditions of the felling licence will continue to apply.
The Forestry Programme also currently provides for a wide range of supports building climate resilience for landowners supporting the establishment of new forests and to forest owners managing their forests through Forestry Creation Grants and Premiums, Forestry Support Grants for Existing Forest Owners including Climate Resilience Reforestation, and Forestry Skills Training.
Further details are available on the Departments website https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-agriculture-food-and-the-marine/publications/forestry-grants-and-schemes/