The European Investment Bank(EIB) has backed an investment in Irish forestry that will see €112m provided to the industry in Ireland.
The EIB will contribute €28.5m to the new initiative that will provide investment to privately owned forests across Ireland.
The Irish Strategic Investment Fund is the major contributor to the project and will provide €55m.
The deal is the first of its kind to be supported by Dasos, a European forest investment fund. Dasos is committed to addressing issues faced by small scale forests across Ireland and will support crucial upgrades to Ireland’s forestry infrastructure during the campaign.
“This announcement today will help ensure that this economic potential is realised by consolidating smaller forests under a single management plan. The mobilisation of timber from privately owned forests is a key objective of my Department and this investment fund will make a significant contribution towards achieving this goal,” said Minsiter of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle
The Dasos initiative intends to develop a professionally managed portfolio of up to 15,000 hectares of forests across Ireland in the coming years.
source: http://www.independent.ie
