Roscommon forestry company admits timber shortage could be devastating for local firms

There are fears for hundreds of jobs in the forestry, timber and building sectors in the Shannonside Northern Sound region

A backlog in the licensing system not just for planting but for felling trees is resulting in hundreds of applications being stalled by up to two years.

According to a Roscommon based forestry consultancy service in Roscommon, this is already impacting on harvesting and the supply to sawmills, with knock on to the building trade and local hardware stores.

Padraig Egan of Axe Forestry Ltd says an ineffective system within the Department has brought on a major crisis.