As the impact of Storm Éowyn continues to be felt around the country, the State's forestry service is assessing the widespread destruction the weather event caused.
Coillte estimates that the costs involved in removing damaged trees and replanting forests will run to millions of euro.
Conor Hunt visited Mote Park in Co Roscommon, where a massive clean-up operation is being carried out.
At Mote Park Forest, close to Roscommon town, heavy equipment has moved in to clear and cut down trees damaged during Storm Éowyn.
This is hefty work and many long days lie ahead as many trees have to be dragged out.
Watching on is Coillte's communications manager, Pat Neville, who says at least half of the trees in the 300 hectare park are damaged and down at present.
"The number of trees on the ground would run into tens of thousands. Individual trees, all lying on the ground at the moment."
Mote Park Forest is just one of the Coillte owned forests which sustained significant damage during Storm Éowyn. The agency says the costs - including removing and replanting - in their forests around Ireland will run into millions of euro.
Mr Neville said: "The cost will be significant. We haven't done a full assessment, but it's probably safe to say the economic costs will run into the millions in terms of the thousands of hectares of Coillte forests that have been damaged. There's the environmental damage as well.
"The storm has badly impacted our productive forests, our biodiversity areas and our recreational forests and trails right across the country. It'll take us about two weeks maybe to assess the full nature of the damage, but it's safe to say at this stage that thousands of hectares of Coillte forests have been badly damaged.
Mr Neville says the unprecedented weather event has caused extensive and significant damage right around the country. The clean-up operation here will continue for weeks and the park will remain closed until it is deemed safe for the public.
"There's a social impact as well. Mote Park Forest here in Roscommon is a very popular recreation forest for the public, and it will remain closed for at least another week, maybe two weeks, as we make the forest safe again, removing dangerous and overhanging trees.
"It's important to say that fallen trees and overhanging trees are extremely dangerous, and the public should not approach them."
Many trees which fell during the storm came down on electricity poles and wires and there have been calls with any future forestry planting to consider the proximity of electricity infrastructure.
In Donegal, Fianna Fáil councillor Donal Mandy Kelly says there should be a greater distance between newly planted trees and electricity lines in future.
"We saw a lot of destruction here in Donegal, particularly in my own area around Letterkenny.
"I was out on the ground assessing the damage that had taken place and a lot of it was to do with Coillte forestry and privately-owned forestry, where the corridor between the lines where the trees were planted was too narrow.
"We've got these fir tress growing in excess of 30 to 40 feet. That's well and good when the trees are small and being planted, but when these trees are fully grown, what's happening is they're collapsing with the wind and falling down on top of the line."
Mr Kelly is now calling for a meeting with the forestry agency.
"I have requested a member of Coillte to come and sit around the table with us ... and see what policies and regulations we can change going forward.
"How can we stop this from happening again? Because, unfortunately we will see more and more storms here going forward and we need to address it now."
Coillte says it abides by the setback rules laid down by the department and says it will follow any new regulations that a newly established forestry taskforce puts in place.
"The minister has acted very quickly and established a national task force, and Coillte is contributing to that and collaborating with that process. The taskforce will meet again next week, and it's looking into those problems and looking for solutions to make sure that this doesn't happen again in the future," Mr Neville says.
"Around the country, Coillte own and mange about 50% of the forests in Ireland. So the other 50% are privately owned as well. So it's a problem for the sector as a whole. Coillte are working closely with the minister and the new taskforce and whatever rules and regulations are put in place, we'd be very happy to abide by those."
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Review of emergency supports needed, says Tánaiste
Tánaiste Simon Harris has called for a county council review of what emergency supports are available and where they can be located in the aftermath of the storm.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today With Claire Byrne, he said it is vital the public is made fully aware of "what is the back up" when technology stops working, both in urban and rural areas.
He did not specify what additional funding would be made available to perform the review, but said resources would be made available.
However, he said that "if you're sitting there two weeks on without electricity" then "it does raise questions" over the response to what happened.
Mr Harris was separately asked about comments from ESB Chief Executive Paddy Hayes that the cost of repairing electricity lines could be passed onto customers.
The Tánaiste said he would have expected a more "sensitive" approach to the issue, and that "at the very least" ESB needs to engage with Government on the matter, saying that "when you can't turn on the lights, saying you're going to put up the bills" is unhelpful.
He said Government will also look at concerns some people who have been without electricity for two weeks may still be charged for those two weeks, but said the first priority is to "get the lights back on" before any review.
