Wilderness is simply a concept that doesn't quite exist in Ireland. We didn't have any of it, and the closest equivalent, forestry, dates to earlier 20th century land reforms.
Effectively forestry is agriculture, not wilderness.. in terms of the ideal. Even agriculture has ecological standards, but preserving hedges for wildlife is not the same as preserving an arboreal ecosystems.
I would absolutely love to see as much forestry land as possible converted (conceptually) to "wilderness." That doesn't mean it can't produce wood pulp or other commercial products. But, it does mean that wood pulp is not the goal. Native species are the goal. Recreation is the goal. ..And the long term future is the goal.
Some of the spruce & pine patches dotted around the country have occasional hardwood "groves." Walking in from the dark & inaccessible pack of spruce into the the magical space created by as few as a dozen matures oaks and chestnuts... you can almost imagine the Ireland of fairy stories and legends. An acre of oak feels like a place, something that should have a name and a story. Those don't happen on short term timescales, but we can and should plant them as a gift to our grandchildren.
We need a paradigm shift. Some of this island should be dedicated to non-agricultural use... and timber mono-cropping doesn't count. It should be accessible to us. I would love for us to adopt Scottish "rambling rights," at least for forestry land). It should probably be not-for-profit, reinvesting any income into improvements and land acquisition.
*Personal: my Grandfather grew up on land that was "agriculturally unproductive." The land was acquired by the state for forestry in the early 50s and the people encouraged to migrate. That's the origin of much/most forestry land. It belongs to the public, morally (and technically, mostly).
We are wealthy enough as a nation that we can afford to use some of our least productive ($-p-acre) land for recreational, ecological and spiritual purposes. Planting an oak grove is spiritual, imo, especially in ireland. Timber plantations are not that.