Felling License Needed?

TomOnBoard

Do I need a felling license if I am cutting down some trees for burning in our own wood stove?

Oldtree

If they are more than ten years old and more than 30 meters (100 feet) from a dwelling the answer is yes.

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/treefelling/legalrequirementsfortreefelling/

Tom C

yes you can get a form in your local garda . but if like me they probably wont know what your talking about but especially need it if in reps they will look for it

Oldtree

Felling forms online here.

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/treefelling/treefelling/

Fill out the correct licence application for you and include maps (photocopies will do), easy, and take to garda. Get copy of front of form date stamped at station as proof of handing in. The forestry section will contact you shortly and then you will have to meet with a forestry inspector to discuss licence and what you intend to do.

It would do no harm to speak to the forestry inspector before sending off form to make sure you are applying for the correct licence for you. ring the felling section on 053 91 65530 to ask for the inspectors number.

whelan1

i know nothing about falling trees but be careful lads , neighbour died last year when the tree "kicked" and a cousin of mine from wexford looks like hes going to be papralysed after a similar incident in wexford last week- he has 200 cows and finding it hard to get workers ... so be careful

agcons

Oldtree wrote: »

Felling forms online here.

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/treefelling/treefelling/


It would do no harm to speak to the forestry inspector before sending off form to make sure you are applying for the correct licence for you. ring the felling section on 053 91 65530 to ask for the inspectors number.

Good idea anyway because he will be the one who has to call out, see the trees and issue the licence. If you have a cross compliance insection they may ask to see the licence

Nobbies

more bureaucratic nonesense in this country. I went to tax the jeep yesterday and had to get the Gardai to sign, date, stamp and witness me filling a form to say I was a farmer and then go to the DVO to get a confirmation that I had a herd number, all just to get an ole jeep taxed... what a load of crap.

Forget about permits or licences and cut away like oul hell and if anyone asks tell them they fell and if you feel that bad about the whole thing, go buy a lock of trees in the nursery and plant them in their place!

kay 9

This country is gone to fu*k and what happened to the old style Irish that had the balls to stand up to this bs.! Sorry for ranting.

LostCovey

Nobbies wrote: »

more bureaucratic nonesense in this country. I went to tax the jeep yesterday and had to get the Gardai to sign, date, stamp and witness me filling a form to say I was a farmer and then go to the DVO to get a confirmation that I had a herd number, all just to get an ole jeep taxed... what a load of crap.

You don't need do any of that to tax a jeep. You only need that paperwork to get a farmer's discount. In fairness it would be a universal discount if they hadn't some way of confining it to farmers.

LC

TomOnBoard

I asked the question originally because I have a few trees in a small (1Ha) plantation that have grown very wonky and I want to take them out for firewood. I know that in the UK, the Forestry Commission allows for up to 5 Cubic Metres to be felled in any calendar quarter without needing a license (only 2 Cubic Metres allowed to be sold).

Given that most of our laws stemmed from British Jurisprudence, I would have thought that a person could cut a few trees for firewood without having to bring in the United Nations.

Ridiculous or what?:mad:

Bizzum

TomOnBoard wrote: »

I would have thought that a person could cut a few trees for firewood without having to bring in the United Nations.?

I'd say Ban Ki-Moon wouldn't be shy to rev up the ol Husqy of a frosty morning

meathstevie

TomOnBoard wrote: »

I asked the question originally because I have a few trees in a small (1Ha) plantation that have grown very wonky and I want to take them out for firewood. I know that in the UK, the Forestry Commission allows for up to 5 Cubic Metres to be felled in any calendar quarter without needing a license (only 2 Cubic Metres allowed to be sold).

Given that most of our laws stemmed from British Jurisprudence, I would have thought that a person could cut a few trees for firewood without having to bring in the United Nations.

Ridiculous or what?:mad:

Does the felling licence actually cover plantation management ?

TomOnBoard

meathstevie wrote: »

Does the felling licence actually cover plantation management ?

2 types of felling licence- General & Limited.

General usually has re-planting conditions attached; Limited doesn't.
General usually used for total removal of all trees (clearfell); Limited used for thinnings, management (after 10 years) etc; and obviously for cutting down 1or 2 of one's own trees for firewood!! :---(

greenfingers89

TomOnBoard wrote: »

2 types of felling licence- General & Limited.

General usually has re-planting conditions attached; Limited doesn't.
General usually used for total removal of all trees (clearfell); Limited used for thinnings, management (after 10 years) etc; and obviously for cutting down 1or 2 of one's own trees for firewood!! :---(

think you have that mixed up, its the other way around.....general is got for thinning and is almost always granted for 5 years, covering all bits and pieces of felling in the 5 year period. limited is got for clearfell (limited as in you are limited almost always to a set felling action i.e clearfell) and this almost always comes with conditions such as replanting

Oldtree

Generally speaking:

Limited is for a specific operation and for a shorter time period (up to 2 years).

General is for all operations for an area for 5 years.

Both may require replanting depending on the type of operation being carried out.

TomOnBoard

Oldtree wrote: »

Generally speaking:

Limited is for a specific operation and for a shorter time period (up to 2 years).

General is for all operations for an area for 5 years.

Both may require replanting depending on the type of operation being carried out.

Clearly I'm confused. Need for further research obviously.

Regardless of the type of licence required, the fact that I need to get a licence at all to cut some firewood for my own wood stove is outrageous.

greenfingers89

TomOnBoard wrote: »

Clearly I'm confused. Need for further research obviously.

Regardless of the type of licence required, the fact that I need to get a licence at all to cut some firewood for my own wood stove is outrageous.

dont get bogged down in this, YOU need a GENERAL felling licence and its FREE

MOSSAD

Nobbies wrote: »

more bureaucratic nonesense in this country. I went to tax the jeep yesterday and had to get the Gardai to sign, date, stamp and witness me filling a form to say I was a farmer and then go to the DVO to get a confirmation that I had a herd number, all just to get an ole jeep taxed... what a load of crap.

Forget about permits or licences and cut away like oul hell and if anyone asks tell them they fell and if you feel that bad about the whole thing, go buy a lock of trees in the nursery and plant them in their place!

Guards hate coming out to your house to issue you with a prohibition notice-it's nothing to worry about just make you wait until the inspector sees what you want to do.

fodda

What type of trees are they?

MOSSAD

Read the 1946 Act in terms of why it was introduced- there was a massive shortage of timber and this was the way to control the unlimited cutting of trees.
For the last couple of years the Dept has apparantly been working on overhauling the 1946 Act and loosening up things a little...but these poor overworked public servants, god love them

Oldtree

it a very easy form to fill out and an easy process to go through, dont leave yourself open to an unfriendly neighbour reporting you as you will have to be taken to court an fined, and that will cost more than the savings on harvesting your own wood and as mentioned above its a free process.

manjou

Y You need a felling lisence if you are cutting any tree over 10 years old.IF you have an inspection and the see a tree cut you can be fined for not having a fellling lincence under cross compliance rules.Also you may not think a tree will be missed but someone may like it in there view and report it gone more common than you think.Had a large beach tree on top of a hill knocked in wind a few weeks ago and had a good few people ask what happened to it. The liscence costs nothing and is easy to get so would be worth getting.

tyres

Any ideas of a need to get a felling license to clear a fairly overgrown site in townland area? Recently purchased site with existing dwelling on it and intend renovating sometime next year.

It would involve knocking 3-6 maturish trees, ranging from 10m Evergreens to one or two large Beech trees....

greenfingers89

tyres wrote: »

Any ideas of a need to get a felling license to clear a fairly overgrown site in townland area? Recently purchased site with existing dwelling on it and intend renovating sometime next year.

It would involve knocking 3-6 maturish trees, ranging from 10m Evergreens to one or two large Beech trees....

anything within 100ft of a dwelling is exempt

St. Leibowitz

manjou wrote: »

Y You need a felling lisence if you are cutting any tree over 10 years old... .

Not true. You need a felling licence to cut down ANY tree, unless it is exempt. Exemptions are below (there are others for road building etc.)

The requirement for a felling licence for the uprooting or cutting down of trees does not apply where:

• The tree in question is a hazel, apple, plum, damson, pear, or cherry tree grown for the value of its fruit or any ozier;
• The tree in question is less than 100 feet from a dwelling other than a wall or temporary structure;
• The tree in question is standing in a County or other Borough or an urban district (that is, within the boundaries of a town council, or city council area).

http://www.teagasc.ie/forestry/technical_info/felling_licences.asp

The ten year misconception comes from the wording on uprooting trees.

""Under Section 37 of the Forestry Act, 1946, it is illegal to uproot any tree over ten years old or to cut down any tree of any age (including trees which form part of a hedgerow), unless a Felling Notice has been lodged at the Garda Station nearest to the trees at least 21 days before felling commences. ""

So, this looks like it specifically prohibits coppicing. It's ok to kill the tree by uprooting it if it's under ten years old, but you can't cut it down to coppice it.

Oldtree

You are right, I sit corrected on a 10 year misconseption. It's the same wording on the DOEF website here:

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/treefelling/legalrequirementsfortreefelling/

and to further qualify that the definition of a tree under the act is:

"the word “tree” does not include any hazel, apple, plum, damson, pear or cherry tree grown for the value of its fruit or any ozier, but with those exceptions includes every tree of any age or any stage of growth"

However in Definitions for purposes of Part IV:

"the expression “cut down” means, in relation to a tree, cut through the trunk of the tree at a height of less than six feet from the ground surface to such an extent that the tree falls or is rendered liable to fall under the influence of natural agencies"

"The trunk" is a single trunk not the multiple stem unually formed for coppicing from a single root! I must immediatly write to the man from the minestry to get a definitive opinion (but I'm covered with a general licence anyway).

Porrohman

MOSSAD wrote: »

For the last couple of years the Dept has apparantly been working on overhauling the 1946 Act and loosening up things a little...but these poor overworked public servants, god love them

The department has been working on a new Act for at least ten years now to my knowledge. It quite obviously needs a complete overhaul, for instance, the requirement to get the Gardai to serve a prohibition notice is a nonsense in this day and age. However a number of vested interests within the industry are resistant to change as they like things just the way they are.