Credentials in Ireland: what the official pages name for tree work

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The pages below are those of the Health and Safety Authority, Teagasc, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Quality and Qualifications Ireland, the national apprenticeship site and the Arboricultural Association's Ireland branch. None of them names a general licence for tree work. Where a page says a course is needed, this page gives its wording and names the page.

What the HSA says about chainsaw training

The HSA's Guidance on Safe Use of Chainsaws (2022) has a section on training. In its words, a person who needs to use a chainsaw to fell a tree must have completed an accredited chainsaw training course suitable for the work, and courses should meet the standards laid down by QQI. It says training needs are set by risk assessment. The guidance is a publication of the regulator. The section does not cite a section of an Act.

Point	What the guidance says
Course types listed	Novice, chainsaw course for farmers, tree surgeon, forestry professional, arboriculturist and horticulturist
Basic course	A basic course covering felling of small trees is 5 days
Short courses	Courses of 2 days covering only maintenance and cross cutting of felled timber exist, and the guidance says they do not demonstrate the techniques needed to fell trees
After training	Trainees should be adequately supervised, and closely supervised after training until experienced and fully competent
Protective equipment	A helmet to EN 397, a visor to EN 1731 or glasses to EN 166, ear defenders to EN 352, and chainsaw trousers to EN 381-5

In a press release of September 7, 2025 on the forestry inspection campaign, an HSA senior inspector is quoted saying that chainsaw operators must have completed an accredited chainsaw training course suitable for the work. A release of January 23, 2024 on storm clean-up says that a person without the competency, training and protective equipment for chainsaw work should not operate a chainsaw and should engage a competent operator. The HSA also publishes a forestry code of practice, in operation since May 1, 2023.

The Level 6 arboriculture apprenticeship

Item	What the official pages say
Award	QQI Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Arboriculture, code 6M21046 on Qualifax
Length	Two years
Managed by	Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, with the course shown at Clonbur on Qualifax
Becoming an apprentice	The apprentice has to be hired by an employer. The page says employers are formally approved by SOLAS in advance
Pay and cost	The employer pays a salary during on-the-job and off-the-job training, at a rate agreed with the apprentice. The page says apprentices do not pay a student contribution

Beyond that table, the Generation Apprenticeship page lists what an apprentice should be able to do by the end, including tree surgery works from the ground and from a tree, identifying pests and diseases, and safety for colleagues and others. The Qualifax entry gives the award details. QQI's own site describes QQI as the state agency responsible for the quality of further and higher education and for information on qualifications on the National Framework of Qualifications, and its quick links lead to Qualifax and the Irish Register of Qualifications.

Teagasc courses

On course details, the Teagasc forestry courses page describes a Level 5 Certificate in Forestry (5M3425) and a Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Forestry (6M4337), each one year, validated by QQI and held at Ballyhaise College in Cavan. Its forestry training page adds a Forest Machine Operator Training Programme and says forestry graduates have developed careers in arboriculture and tree care. Teagasc's Botanic Gardens page for part-time Level 6 awards lists a Tree and Shrub Management module (6N3624) of 15 credits, taught on Wednesdays from January to March at Ashtown, for €290. It says applications for 2026 to 2027 are closed.

The Arboricultural Association's Ireland branch

The association's Knowledge Transfer news item describes a system for arborists in Ireland, put in place by Galway and Roscommon ETB in January 2024, with 15 to 20 events a year. It names the HSA, Teagasc, the Forest Service, ESB Networks and the National Parks and Wildlife Service among the stakeholders. It describes the system as continuing learning and does not describe it as a credential. The branch has its own page.

Felling licences

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's tree felling and management page says a licence is needed to cut down the trees in a forest. That is a rule on the felling, not a credential for the worker, and the page speaks of forests.

What was not found

No page opened for this guide lists what an Irish county council asks of a tree contractor, and no page opened names the body called Arboriculture Ireland. Those items are left out. For the full list of offices see the Ireland directory, and for the start page see tree work in Ireland.