{"id":662154,"date":"2026-10-22T14:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T14:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/662154\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T14:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T14:32:10","slug":"minister-collins-welcomes-eu-forest-directors-to-ireland-for-presidency-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/662154\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister Collins welcomes EU Forest Directors to Ireland for Presidency meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-block-key=\"wyq1i\">Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Niall Collins TD, welcomed EU Forest Directors from across the European Union to Ireland for the informal meeting hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine as part of Ireland\u2019s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"5bnl4\">The meeting, which takes place from 20-22 October, brings together Forest Directors from the EU Member States; representatives of the European Commission and a diverse range of European representative bodies.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"bov2k\">Discussions at the meeting focus on the use of timber in construction and the multi-functionality of forestry. A field visit on Thursday 22 October will give delegates an opportunity to see forests in Dublin and Wicklow with a focus on production, recreation, and native woodland establishment.  <\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"7coo4\">Welcoming delegates, Minister Collins said:  <\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"62z9k\">\u201cI am delighted to welcome colleagues from across Europe to Ireland during our EU Presidency. The informal meeting of Forest Directors is a valuable opportunity to share experience, build relationships and strengthen cooperation on the future of Europe\u2019s forests. It is also a wonderful chance to see Irish forests and share experiences from across the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"473am\">\u201cIreland\u2019s forests are very much a story of afforestation, sustainable forest management, and using timber for construction. Forest cover has grown from just 1.4% of our land area at the foundation of the State to 11.6% in our most recent National Forest Inventory, its highest level in more than 350 years. Our \u20ac1.3 billion Forestry Programme 2023\u20132027, the largest ever investment in forestry by an Irish Government shows our continued commitment to forestry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"dtvk7\">\u201cWood is a remarkable, renewable and multi-functional resource. Using more timber in construction can help to store carbon, support rural jobs and enterprise, and contribute to a more sustainable built environment. I wish all our visitors a productive and enjoyable time in Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/143137f2d310-f031f96a60f4-EU_Forest_Directors_meeting.width-635.jpg.jpg\" width=\"635\" height=\"423\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"EU Forest Directors\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n                Image Caption: Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Niall Collins TD, speaking to EU Forest Directors from across the European Union for the informal meeting hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine as part of Ireland\u2019s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.\n            <\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"wyq1i\">Each Presidency of Council of the European Union hosts an Informal meeting the EU Forest Directors from 27 member states. As part of Ireland&#8217;s Presidency of the Council an Informal meeting in Dublin has been arranged from the 20-22 October 2026. These meetings provide an opportunity for representatives from EU member states and EU Representative bodies to discuss forestry. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-662154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}