The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) has determined that the shortfall for Ireland's annual targets for afforestation "is so significant that it is difficult to see how the gap will be addressed under the current programme".
The Government's forest strategy implementation plan has a target to increase the amount of land afforested from 11.6% in 2023 to "18% cover in the long term and beyond 2030".
According to the 2025 C&AG report on public services, "to achieve this level of forest cover by (say) 2050, additional planting of 16,000 hectares a year would have to be achieved".
However, the report notes that the Department of Agriculture's current yearly target for net additional planting is 8,000 hectares, "at which rate it would take at least 50 years to reach the Department's 18% long-term target".
There are over 800,000 hectares of forests in Ireland, representing 11.6% of the total area of the State, which is well below the EU average afforestation rate of 38.3%.
Ireland's Forest Strategy for 2023-2030 aims to "urgently expand" the national forest estate on both public and private land.
In his report, the C&AG found that the number of hectares planted annually has "fallen significantly short of the target".
It said that "although the target was exceeded marginally in 2015, each subsequent year saw a very substantial shortfall."
Despite a "noticeable up-tick in the level of planting in 2025," the report said a shortfall of 68% of target was recorded (2,527 hectares planted compared to 8,000 hectares).
The Department is cited in the report stating that the 8,000 hectares target "is an ambitious one linked with targets included in the Climate Action Plan".
The C&AG recommends that the Department "should realign its afforestation targets so that its short, medium and long-term afforestation targets are consistent and achievable and take account of binding climate and greenhouse gas objectives".
In terms of spending on forestry schemes, the public-spending watchdog said there was a "consistent underspend" regarding voted expenditure between 2015 and 2025.
Over those years, the Department of Agriculture spent about €946m on forestry schemes, with €82m last year.
The C&AG found that between 2021 and 2024 the underspend was "in the range 20% to 36% a year".
