A group campaigning against the "decimation" of Africa's rainforests staged a Christmas vigil outside the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) in Dublin at the weekend.
Just Forests, based in Rhode, Co Offaly, claims that 60 per cent of tropical timber and wood-based products imported into the Republic comes from illegal logging activities, mostly in west Africa.
"Ireland's insatiable appetite for tropical timber, which is fuelled by our booming construction industry, is contributing to the decimation of Africa's biological diversity,", said Mr Tom Roche, who organised the vigil.
The vigil was meant to last for 24 hours, from midnight on Christmas Eve, but Mr Roche said they had to abandon it after four hours because of the "bitterly cold" weather and the fact that so few people were out.
Just Forests has appealed to the RIAI to insist on timber from independently certified forests.