The controversy surrounding the collapse of European Forestry Growers will understandably leave many investors somewhat shy about putting their money into certain forestry projects particularly Christmas trees.

While offering little comfort to anyone who lost money in this company, the experts continue to stress that provenance is of enormous importance in terms of Christmas tree quality, because of the significant variation in the species available for planting in Ireland. In future, they suggest, further testing should provide greater predictability. Meanwhile, the Forest Service, which is part of the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources, has issued a booklet giving details of grant and premium schemes and new incentives available for investing in forestry.

The free booklet is available from the Department.