The size of Clare’s afforestation area has reduced by 8% in a year.
A new report published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine shows the county is one of 22 where no tree planting was carried out by a public body last year.
The report entitled ‘Forest Statistics Ireland 2025’ shows with a forest area of 57,447 hectares, a whole 18% of Clare is covered by forest.
This gives the county the third-highest forest cover rate in Ireland after Leitrim and Wicklow as well as the fourth-largest forest area nationwide after Cork, Galway and Kerry.
55% of this is privately-owned with the remaining 26,112 hectares in public ownership.
The data reveals that 7% of Clare is covered by non-forest hedgerow, scrub and woodland, with its 22,000 hectares of such vegetation accounting for 5% of the national stock.
Clare also has the country’s fifth-largest afforestation area, or area where forests are being planted, with 108 hectares, all of which is privately-owned, but this has seen a reduction of 8% between 2023 and 2024.
Broadleaf trees make up 53% of this area while conifers account for the remainder.
It’s stated in the report that 4,302 metres of private grant-aided forest road building took place in Clare last year.
