The amount of Irish roundwood purchased for use as biomass almost doubled last year, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.
Some 340,000 cubic metres of roundwood was purchased for use as biomass during 2025, an increase of 94% from 175,000 cubic metres in 2024.
Overall, industry purchased 3.8 million cubic metres of Irish roundwood last year, up 7% from approximately 3.6 million cubic metres in 2024.
The CSO said the increase in overall purchases was likely to have been affected by Storm Éowyn, which caused extensive damage to forestry in early 2025.
The figures also show a significant increase in the contribution made by privately-owned forests.
Private forests supplied 1.61 million cubic metres of roundwood in 2025, accounting for 42% of purchases, compared with 35% the previous year.
Purchases from publicly-owned forests fell from 2.34 million cubic metres in 2024 to 2.20 million cubic metres last year.
Large sawlog remained the largest category, accounting for 1.60 million cubic metres of roundwood purchases.
The figures are particularly relevant to counties with substantial private forestry holdings and come amid continued debate over the role of forestry in Ireland’s energy, climate and land-use policies.
