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Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 15 Nov 2012

Vol. 218 No. 9

Chalara fraxinea (Ash Dieback Disease): Statements

We now have statements on the discovery of Chalara fraxinea, ash dieback disease in the context of the importance of forestry and forestry products industry. I welcome the Minister of State to the House.

I thank the House for the opportunity to give an update and to debate this important matter. Chalara fraxinea poses a very real threat to ash trees throughout the island of Ireland and indeed to those forest industries which rely on that species for their business. With 3% of the national forest estate under ash and over 10% of all new planting made up of this species, it is vital that action is taken swiftly and decisively to reduce this threat. Now that an outbreak of the disease has been confirmed I wish to reassure the House that the Department is doing everything it possibly can to protect one of our most important native species and such an important component in the Irish landscape.

Before I begin I will to set out the main points of my statement. I will give a general overview of forestry in Ireland in terms of the important role the planting, management and timber processing sectors play within the economy. I will also refer to ash itself and the important place this tree species occupies both in the Irish landscape and its importance as a raw material for hurley manufacture. I will then take the opportunity to update the House on the recent occurrence of Chalara fraxinea, the steps being taken to stop the spread of this disease and the legal measures introduced to reduce the risk of further infection. Finally, I will make a statement on the future of ash in Ireland in terms of securing self sufficiency in planting material and in ash wood production.

Forest cover has grown significantly since the introduction of grant aid support for private afforestation in 1982. Total forest cover during that period has increased from 400,000 hectares to 745,000 hectares, which is just under 11% of the total land area. The ownership and species composition of the national estate has also changed in the past number of years. In 1982, 75% of Ireland's forests were in public ownership. This figure now stands at just over half or 53%. Broadleaf cover has also increased during that period to comprise over a quarter of the national estate, 20,000 hectares of which is ash.

The forestry and forest products sectors are important contributors to the economy. The sectors employ over 12,000 people, generating some €2.2 billion in output per annum. The timber industry, which includes sawmills and panel board manufacturers, is also an important exporter of Irish manufactured goods, exporting 82% of its total output in 2010. In terms of output, hurley making is worth an estimated €5 million per annum to the economy. For overall supply, it is estimated that 2,100 cu. m. of ash wood is required for hurley making per annum. This equates to approximately 360,000 hurleys. Coillte, the State forestry board, supplies roughly 400 cu. m. of this material while the private sector provides 100 cu. m. The remaining 1,600 cu. m. is imported.

There are about 65 species of ash, of which only one is native to Ireland, the common ash, Fraxinus excelsior. It is mostly found in lowlands and is one of the common hedgerow trees in the country. Ash is a strong, flexible timber which makes it an ideal material for the manufacture of hurleys. Hurleys themselves are manufactured from the bottom 1.5 metres or so of the tree. It is also an ideal raw material for use in furniture and tool handles. In recent years there has been significant demand for ash firewood as it has a low natural moisture content and generally burns well without drying. Early thinnings of small diameter logs are very suited to the firewood market.

The planting of ash is supported by the Department under the afforestation scheme and the native woodlands scheme. The establishment grant available is up to €4,700 per hectare and an annual premium is also available each year for 20 years at a rate of €481 per hectare for both these schemes.

A separate grant of €750 per hectare is available for thinning and tending of young ash forests. Work under the support scheme includes thinning out of malformed and a proportion of other trees to promote growth in fewer, better quality trees.

I would like to update the House on the latest developments regarding the occurrence of ash dieback. The disease is a fungal pathogen and is a relatively new disease of ash, which was first named in 2006. It has spread rapidly across much of Europe, with the majority of European countries where ash is present reporting dieback. The exact form of the Chalara causal organism has only been identified as recently as 2010. Common ash is susceptible to Chalara fraxinea, as are a number of other species of ash. Other tree species are not susceptible. The disease can affect trees of any age and in any setting and can be fatal, particularly for young trees. The wide range of symptoms associated with ash dieback includes necrotic lesions and cankers along the bark or branches or main stem, foliage wilt, foliage discolouration, and dieback of shoots, twigs or main stem resulting in crown dieback. The disease is known only in Europe, where it has been extremely destructive in many countries. Britain has recorded over 100 outbreak sites, mainly of mature trees in the wider environment.

Ash plants imported from countries where the disease is known to occur represent the most likely source of infection in Ireland. Wood is currently scientifically considered to be a lower risk pathway. Approximately 200,000 ash plants and approximately 1,600 cu. m of round wood ash for hurley manufacture are imported per annum. Firewood data are not broken down on a species-by-species basis although we understand from monitoring of imports that significant quantities of ash firewood are being imported from eastern Europe.

With regard to the outbreak, the Department has been actively monitoring for occurrences of the disease since 2008 by carrying out site surveys to establish the status of Chalara fraxinea in the country and by carrying out examinations of ash imports at ports, importers' premises, nurseries and planting sites. Since 2008, suspect samples have been sent for laboratory analysis but until recently all results were negative. Samples were also sent to a specialist laboratory in Austria. Last month, a suspect case was identified in County Leitrim which, following molecular testing, was confirmed on 12 October as the first known instance of the disease in Ireland. The site was established in 2009 and was planted using material from a consignment of saplings imported from continental Europe. Some 30,000 individual ash trees made up the consignment, which was used in 11 separate sites throughout the country. Ash trees planted on the 11 sites in question have been destroyed. This involved the destruction by cutting and burning of some 30,000 trees from the imported consignment and several thousand adjoining trees, which was carried out rapidly with the co-operation of forest owners and contractors. Results from laboratory analysis received last week on 5 November confirmed that, while most of this consignment had no symptoms, in four of the other sites planted with the material, the disease was present on a very small number of trees. These sites are in County Galway, two in County Tipperary and one in County Meath. This confirms the Department's use of a precautionary approach in destroying the entire consignment at 11 sites was correct. One of the 11 sites is in County Monaghan and some typical chalara symptoms were noted but the results are inconclusive.

Fungicides are sometimes used in a forest nursery setting to prevent fungal infection but have little application in large scale forestry in controlling diseases. Once the occurrence of Chalara fraxinea was confirmed, I met representatives of forest nurseries and forestry contractors to inform them of the situation and seek their views. During the meeting, support was given to my call for a voluntary moratorium on the import of planting material from the Continent for the planting season. In recent years, 90% of the almost 2 million ash plants required for the afforestation programme originates from Irish seed raised in nurseries in Ireland. I arranged similar meetings with the hurley manufacturing sector and explained the type of measures necessary. Following the meeting, the Irish Guild of Ash Hurley Makers called on its members to take voluntary measures to reduce the risk of the disease coming to Ireland in advance of legal measures being introduced. I also met the GAA and Coillte to brief them on the situation. Coillte has committed to bringing forward supply of ash to alleviate any issues in the next few months.

I introduced legal measures on 26 October to prohibit the importation into Ireland of plant material from ash dieback infected areas. The measures make it an offence to import ash plants and seed from any country known to have the disease. Before the legislation was introduced, departmental officials notified the European Commission and the other member states of the first finding of ash dieback in Ireland, the actions taken to destroy the material and our intention to take emergency measures under the EU plant health directive to prevent the further introduction of the disease. As the island of Ireland has a harmonised plant health status under the directive, the legal measures were introduced in conjunction with similar measures taken by the Northern Ireland authorities to prevent any further introduction of the disease. Great Britain also brought in similar measures.

On 6 November the Department introduced legislation to limit the movement of ash wood. While plants are a higher risk pathway, scientific advice is that the movement of ash timber is also a possible pathway of infection. In drafting the legislation, I consulted widely with the hurley sector, conscious of the trade in ash wood for hurley manufacture. The legislation I approved is strong, robust legislation that ensures that ash wood comes from areas known to be free of the disease or that it has been treated in such a way that the threat of the disease is removed.

Before introducing the legislation, I met the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, MLA. With both sets of officials, we agreed the precise requirements in order to ensure a harmonised all-island approach to managing the disease. The legislation, which was signed into law last week, will allow ash wood movement into Ireland as follows: if it is accompanied by a plant passport or an official statement that it comes from an area known to be free of the disease; if it is free of outer round surface, including bark, and has water moisture content of less than 20%; if it is fully squared off; or if it has been kiln-dried below 20% moisture. Many manufacturers are already importing hurleys that meet the requirements and can continue to do so. Others who, for example, import ash butts from areas where the disease is present need to change their supply arrangements to comply with the new legislation. In order to help alleviate any potential supply problems, I have been in contact with Coillte, which has agreed to bring forward harvesting of ash. As a further precaution, the movement of plants within the country is subject to plant passport requirements.

We are aware of the possibility that other consignments of infected material could have made their way into the country and we are currently carrying out an extensive survey of forests planted with imported ash throughout the country. Specific training for the winter symptoms of ash dieback has been provided to district forestry Inspectors and horticultural staff. Department inspectors are also surveying for the disease in garden centres, nurseries and landscape plantings. Our website provides details of the disease and contact phone numbers and an e-mail address for those who believe they may have ash with the disease. My Department and Teagasc have developed a poster on the disease and will circulate posters among Teagasc, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Coillte and National Parks and Wildlife Service offices and other private sector offices in the country, aimed at informing people of the symptoms of the disease.

My Department supports the aim of achieving self-sustainability in reproductive material for all species, not just ash. Nursery owners are encouraged to use home collected seed from registered seed stands. However, we must be mindful of the real risk of this disease becoming established in Ireland and start looking at developing breeding programmes for Chalara fraxinea resistant Irish ash trees. Currently, we simply do not know what level of resistance Irish ash will have to the disease. Experience from countries with the disease suggests there is some natural resistance in some ash trees and, therefore, there is the potential for breeding programmes to improve species resistance. We must think ahead and future proof ash plantations from the disease.

Research is an important strand of the Department's policy, not just in achieving self-sufficiency in this area but for improving the genetic quality of the planting stock. A gene conservation strategy for ash is already in place. Support is provided through my Department under the COFORD programme for studies on broadleaf tree improvement. Work is being undertaken principally in University College Dublin, in close collaboration with Coillte and Teagasc, with the aim of improving the future quality and productivity of Irish trees. The Department is also represented on FRAXBACK, which is a European Cooperation in Science and Technology, COST, action programme for research on the Chalara fraxinea disease.

With regard to the future supply of hurley ash, the total supply of raw material to meet the demand of hurley makers is 2,100 cu. m per annum, of which well over 70% is imported. It is unlikely the supply deficit will change in the short term as significant increases in locally produced ash wood are not expected for a number of years.

While the 20,000 hectares of ash is more than sufficient for a sustainable long-term supply of ash wood, most of this material is less than 20 years old and is not ready to harvest for hurley production. Based on the age profile of ash planted and maximising recovery from thinnings, self-sufficiency in ash wood is not projected until around 2020. The importation of ash will, therefore, be a feature of the hurley industry for a number of years to come. This makes it all the more important to have the support of hurley makers in terms of sourcing raw materials which is in compliance with the new legislation.

This disease has presented a number of challenges which we have dealt with head on. We have taken appropriate decisions which are in line with the latest scientific information available to us. Infected sites were cleared without delay, legislation has been agreed on plants and wood with Northern Ireland, the nursery trade and the hurley manufacturers have been brought with us and we have stepped up our surveillance operations. This disease will continue to bring challenges and I will endeavour to meet each one as they present themselves. I will continue to take the best advice I can, taking whatever action needs to be taken.

In the last hour we had a meeting with hurley makers, foresters, nurseries and other interested parties. We are moving forward. We had a very good discussion and much was learned from the meeting. We will continue to fight this disease but it will not be easy.

I compliment the staff of my Department and everyone in the industry. There is no disagreement and no one is talking about money. It is simply a matter of getting rid of the problem and moving forward. We have a long six months ahead of us, but we intend to meet the problem head on.

I thank the Seanad for this opportunity to speak on the matter.

Go raibh maith ag an Aire Stáit as a bheith anseo to talk about this important issue for the forestry sector. When we remember that 10% of the land mass of Ireland is under forest, we can see the importance of dealing with this issue in a comprehensive manner. The Minister of State has done that to the best of his ability, which I acknowledge.

Ash dieback disease, Chalara fraxinea, is extremely worrying. Its origins are unknown, although it is confined to a number of countries. We import 200,000 ash plants every year and they come from various countries, including the Netherlands and other European continental countries. This is a cause of concern. The issue emerged initially in County Leitrim and my colleague, Senator Paschal Mooney, who comes from County Leitrim, will be raising his concerns. We must remember that 3% of Irish forests are ash forests, 10% of the 2011 planting programme was ash, more than 70% of hurleys used in Ireland come from imported ash wood and around 350,000 hurleys are produced annually in Ireland. However, I do not see many of them in County Donegal. We play with a different size ball, and we had some success this year.

I met Mr. Lar Corbett, the famous hurler, at the National Ploughing Championships. He has set up his own business selling hurleys and there is now a Lar Corbett hurley. There are, of course, many other types of hurley. Mr. Corbett explained to me how he was establishing a business and that he was planning to travel to each county to promote it. He will be welcome in County Donegal when he comes north.

This issue will affect business and industry. It is important that the Minister of State has taken steps to protect the forestry industry and secondary industries, such as hurley making. Ash can also be used for furniture making and as wood chips. It is important that protective measures are put in place.

The British Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Mr. Owen Paterson, admitted that it was almost impossible to deal with the problem. In the United Kingdom, steps have been taken to eradicate ash dieback disease but the Secretary of State admitted that it will be almost impossible to do so. An action plan has been put in place with the primary goal of removing and destroying diseased young trees. There are no plans to remove mature trees which are important for wild life and efforts will focus on developing resistance to the disease. Conservation groups in Britain welcomed their Government's assurance that no mature trees will be cut down.

The problem has been in these shores since 12 October, with the outbreak in Country Leitrim. This is something we must deal with. There has been coverage in the farming media of the work being done by the Minister of State and how it can be developed. It is important that the Minister of State met with the Northern Ireland Minister of Agriculture to discuss how we can deal with the disease on an all-Ireland basis and what steps can be put in place. Does the statutory instrument put in place by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to ban the importation of ash trees include a complete ban on imported ash trees? I assume it does. Steps such as that must be taken until the disease is eradicated, because it has far reaching and wide consequences for the industry and for the development of products derived from ash.

What implications will the ban on imports have for the manufacture of hurleys? Does the ban include the importation of ash timber or only of ash trees?

Ash wood can be imported in four forms. I will repeat what I said earlier, for clarification. Imported ash wood must be accompanied by a plant passport and an official statement that it originated in the area known to be free from Chalara fraxinea. It must be squared so as to remove entirely the round surface. It must be sawn without residual bark attached and have undergone kiln drying to below 20% moisture content expressed as a percentage of dry matter. There shall be evidence, therefore, by the mark, KD, that it is kiln dried. We have left within the legislation the right to inspect ash at the ports and, if we are not happy with what we see in relation to staining, to turn it back. There will be serious surveillance at ports.

I thank the Minister of State.

I suggest that questions be kept until the end of the debate when the Minister of State can answer all of them.

It is my fault. I enticed the Minister of State to answer my question. He covered this aspect in his initial contribution. I apologise for missing or overlooking that.

What the Minister of State is doing has the full support of this side of the House. It is important to protect our forestry and the industries that derive from forestry and use timber. The steps he has taken are welcome.

The forestry industry grew from the grant schemes introduced in 1982. I know the Minister of State often meets representatives of the forestry industry and we are now in the lead-up to the budget. The Minister of State knows that grant aid for the forestry sector is important and I know it will not be easy for every Minister to get what he wants in the budget, but I reiterate the importance of holding on to the forestry grants we have.

I reiterate the importance of trying to hold on to what we have in respect of the forestry grants that are available.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Shane McEntee, for the initiatives he has taken to minimise the risks posed by ash dieback disease. The regulations introduced have been measured in terms of the type of ash products which may be imported and the countries from which imports may be accepted.

Since the disease was first identified in Europe, we have seen it spread rapidly across the Continent, to Britain and eventually to Ireland. I was disappointed to learn that the first case of the disease had arisen in my county of Leitrim. Historically and culturally, because of the use of ash in the production of hurleys, the tree has a unique significance here. The ash tree dates back 4,000 years and in Celtic times was revered as a sacred tree. While we do not have much sporting success in Leitrim, we have a good young hurling team in Manorhamilton which won the county championship this year. We have good teams coming up and a good interest in hurling in County Leitrim.

The ash tree produces a product which is flexible, strong and resistant to splitting. It has uses in the recreation industry and has long been used in the production of handles for farm and garden tools. It is also used in furniture making, particularly in church furniture such as seating and in altars. It is a native tree, the growth of which should be supported. As with all trees, ash plays a significant part in the biodiversity of the countryside, by providing habitats for native wildlife.

It is important in respect of the forestry sector. I understand that 3% of Irish forestry comprises ash, with Coillte alone managing 2,700 hectares of ash. Similarly, in agriculture, forestry can be one of the leading sectors in turning around the economic circumstances, with the sector worth an estimated €2.2 billion to the economy. Therefore, the ash tree and the entire forestry sector is important in that regard. I understand that researchers have suggested that it is unlikely the disease can be eradicated and that management of the disease is the basis on which to proceed.

I welcome the cross-Border co-operation by the Department and its counterparts in Northern Ireland. The spread of the disease across the Continent of Europe identifies the need to tackle the matter on an all-island basis. It is important to further urge farmers and growers to be vigilant. In doing so I commend the Department's forestry service and Coillte for the actions taken in raising awareness of the disease. The campaign will equip landowners with the knowledge and skills to identify the symptoms of the disease and allow for early intervention. Early intervention will be instrumental in stemming the spread of the disease which has been identified in five further sites. I compliment the Minister of State on the action taken in regard to those sites and the taking out of the trees.

It is equally important not to create an environment of undue concern in respect of the planting of ash which may lead landowners to perceive that the risk is too great and may lead to a reduction in the planting of one of our native trees. It has been stated that cooler temperatures and wetter summers may favour some strains of the disease, and following the conditions which prevailed during the summer months and the identification of the disease, we must be conscious of the symptoms of the disease to avoid further cases. I urge all organisations to continue their awareness campaign and to focus on landowners and rural dwellers who pass by hedgerows and forests every day and would be in a position to identify changes in the ash population more easily.

I welcome the Minister of State. I note that he said he had dealt with the challenges head on. I was trying to remember what that reminded me of and I may tell him after the debate.

Our island advantage must be used and availed of. Senator Feargal Quinn lives almost on an island, a peninsula, where there are red squirrels which are not found in the rest of the country. We are protected by our island from importation of diseases which could affect the flora and fauna. I am glad the Minister of State has taken action against those imports. I recall, a long time ago, the GAA and hurley makers were supposed to get together with Coillte's predecessor, probably the then Department of Lands. It is a pity that 70% of hurleys have to be imported. Perhaps the Minister of State could bring the group together again. Are there any lessons to be learned from the Dutch elm disease which devastated many of our trees in the past? In Trinity College Dublin tomorrow we celebrate the centenary of David A. Webb, the doyen of Irish botanists, and will be with 110 botanists. If any member of the Department is present tomorrow afternoon, he or she could join in and will have access to a great assembly of people who are experts in the area.

I welcome the North-South dimension. It is important we tackle the issue on a unified basis. Is there a plan to engage in breeding programmes to try to develop plants within Ireland which would not have the diseases described, which appear to be imported primarily on the roots of plants? It will be noticed that Australia has an immense programme to prevent the importation of diseases on food products and plants. We have something to cherish in this country. While it has been done in regard to elms, can we breed indigenous disease free trees here? I recall my surprise that after so many decades of talking about it, the GAA and the hurley makers did not get together to give us a stronger home industry. Can we develop new genetic breeding of the plant? Senator Feargal Quinn is a fan of genetic engineering but can that be done to get a better brand?

Is it possible to substitute anything into Irish tree planting for leylandii which has become a scourge, a weed, an uglification of the country, so to speak? We must have some native breeds of broadleaf trees and not use it so much in shelter belt programmes.

I wish the Minister of State well in the endeavour and compliment him and his staff on how quickly they have reacted. A repeat of the Dutch elm disease experience of 20 or 30 years ago would devastate the landscape and have knock-on effects in the area of tourism and how well the country looks.

I extend a sincere welcome to the Minister of State whom I had not met previously. I note he is from County Meath which many would not regard as a traditional hurling stronghold. However, there are many pockets of proud hurling tradition in Meath. The battle scars which I bear testify to that.

I once marked a man from County Meath who went on to captain the county in 2009 when it won the Nicky Rickard Cup and no ash was spared on that occasion. I note the Acting Chairman is from County Kerry, another county that is not noted for its hurling tradition.

The best game of hurling I witnessed was between the respective counties of the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, and the Acting Chairman, Senator Moloney, two or three years ago in the Christy Ring Cup in Tralee. It was a fantastic game that ended with a score of something like 7-11 to 4-13. It had everything, including sendings off, rows and goals galore.

Yesterday I spoke to Edward Shanahan, a hurley maker from my neck of the woods. He told me that the Minister of State had impressed him with his swiftness in trying to combat this disease. While it is unfortunate, it is nothing to do with the current Administration that we have had to import so much ash in the past. The Minister of State has advised that we should be self-sufficient in ash by 2016, which I welcome and to which look forward.

This disease appeared first in County Leitrim. I was not aware that it had spread to the Minister of State's county and to some other counties. It is certainly a worrying development for our native ash, but I know the Minister of State is doing everything he can to combat it. It is not easy to combat as we have seen in other countries in Europe. Hurley makers welcome what the Minister of State is doing. There is a threat to hurley makers even though it is not huge. It relates to plastic hurleys manufactured in Malaysia which do not do anything for Irish jobs or the economy. The Minister of State said that 360,000 hurleys are made every year contributing approximately €5 million to the economy, which may be an underestimate. If hurleys cost between €20 and €30 and this is multiplied by 360,000 it comes to €9 million or €10 million.

Senator Ó Domhnaill mentioned the National Ploughing Championships, which I attended and at which I met many hurley makers from throughout the country. The issue of ash dieback did not seem to be on their radar at the time and the issue is one that seemed to be sprung upon us. I was taken aback by that. The Daily Telegraph recently carried an interview with a Danish scientist and referred to a lack of communication in Europe. We know that the Danish ash has been virtually wiped out. Denmark is a small country, as is Ireland. If the ash dieback catches on, it could potentially spread like wildfire. This lady indicated it has been killing Poland's ash trees since 1992 but people had not known about it.

I know we are trying to burn the diseased trees and get rid of them and while that may do some good, the fungus on the dead trees lies in the ground all winter. Apparently spores are produced between July and September which are carried by the wind. If the wind starts to blow in the wrong direction, it could have catastrophic results for our ash trees.

I was given a timeline for what had happened since it was first discovered in this country with events occurring on 12 October, 16 October, 18 October, 26 October, 2 November and 7 November. The Minister of State has been most proactive, on which I congratulate him. We should not underestimate the potential for devastation of our native ash, especially when we are getting close to being self-sufficient.

There is a poster campaign and those in Teagasc offices and others have been informed. I urge the Minister of State to widen that to all the hurley makers because people come in to buy hurleys at this time of year. People will be stocking up because hurleys could become scarce if the importation of ash is to be curtailed. Perhaps they should be given an information leaflet to hand out. There is a fantastic network of GAA clubs. People walk the land and know the land, and it would help if they were educated and could identify the problem early. Perhaps GAA clubs should be given the posters. Annual general meetings and county conventions are being held at this time of the year and perhaps we should use those fora to inform the people. Many GAA club championship matches are being shown on TG4 at weekends at this time of year. Perhaps announcements could be carried at half time or before or after the programme because many GAA and hurling people will be watching those programmes. Those are my suggestions.

I commend the Minister of State for the work he has done. I hope we will not experience the same kind of devastation seen in other countries in Europe.

The more one reads about this crisis that has hit Britain and is now hitting Ireland, the more one is reminded of the lines in the Lament for Kilcash:

Cad a dhéanfaimid feasta gan adhmad?

Tá deireadh na gcoillte ar lár;

That is coming true before our very eyes. The country is facing an environmental, ecological and economic disaster and I am not sure the public at large fully understand the scale of it. It is an absolute disaster for the country that this has happened here. One cannot criticise the actions of the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, in banning imports after it was discovered in Ireland. By contrast it took months for Britain to do anything. However, the British seem to have got a grip on it now. Its COBRA Cabinet committee, which is the equivalent of the US White House situation room, is meeting regularly on the topic. That is how seriously the British are taking it now having done nothing for months. Should a Cabinet committee here be treating this as a national emergency? The same committee that dealt with the Iraq war and terrorist bombings in Britain is now dealing with this crisis. That is how they have copped on after all their delay. The Minister of State here did not delay and acted promptly, but the matter needs to be escalated in the public awareness.

This is seen as a problem for the industry, Coillte and hurley makers, but it is a problem for the entire country. We need to make people more aware of the symptoms to look out for so that they can report cases of it. It appears that a number of bodies in the UK had warned their Government as far back as 2009 of the dangers of ash imports and urged it to ban the import of ash, but it failed to do so. Were similar warnings given here in the past three years and did we fail to act on them?

I wish to discuss the destruction of ash and the cost to the Department in compensation that may arise. There is legal action in the UK because of the alleged failure of its Government to heed warnings given in recent years to ban imports. We need to up the ante on this and publicise it in a much more effective way. Legislation needed to be implemented and the Minister of State did that in time. However, the Minister of State's senior colleagues in government need to get more of a grip on the problem and treat it as the national emergency it is.

Other than that we will support whatever must be done in this regard.

The Minister of State should make a statement to the House in which he denies it is a Tipperary conspiracy to do with Kilkenny hurling because of the importance of the ash tree there.

We know how important the timber industry, in particular the ash industry, is here, whether for making hurleys or furniture or for firewood. The disease spread rapidly through continental Europe. We have discovered four or five cases of it here in imported saplings. Is it possible to put in place a test for early diagnosis and, if so, will the Minister of State obtain funding from the Department to do so? It takes a while, perhaps a few years, for the disease to be noticed in a tree when the leaves fall off and the crown starts to die. This might be too late for the trees. We saw what happened with Dutch elm disease, which wiped out one variety of elm tree.

What is the position with nurseries in this country? Importing ash from affected countries has been banned. Do we have enough stock in the nurseries to continue with ash planting or will it require a three or four year programme to acquire the amount of saplings needed to replenish our ash trees? Senator Byrne asked whether there must be a cull and, if so, whether there will be compensation. I imagine there would be compensation where ash trees were planted in forestries but not for wild ash growing in hedgerows. The country will look very bare. We do not have that many native species of trees because during the ice age the ice disappeared from Ireland much later than some continental Europe. The ash has always been very important to the country.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I had done some work on this very serious problem and had intended to call for an action plan from the Minister of State, but he has already done a great deal of work and I am very impressed. This work has included meeting the Minister in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, MLA, because it is an all-Ireland problem. It is also an all-Europe problem.

It seems likely the disease will spread rapidly as it has done in other parts of Europe. This will have huge knock-on effects for all of our rural areas. Trees and woodlands are very important in our ecosystems for capturing and storing carbon in cities to decrease air pollution, for recreation, for landscape aesthetics and, of course, for wildlife. It is amazing to consider that Lithuania has lost all its ash trees to the disease, and Denmark has lost nine out of ten of its ash trees. We have introduced restrictions on imports and I hope it is not too late.

The disease was recognised as far back as 2003. How many trees have we imported since then? In the UK, a recent summit found the best ways to tackle the disease were: better awareness raising and information gathering on issues such as leaf litter management; surveys and developing partnerships to continue disease and resistance surveillance and making use of volunteers in this regard; and focusing action on newly planted trees and not cutting down mature trees. These ideas are to be included in an action plan.

I am impressed with the amount of work done by the Minister of State and delighted to see it. However, we must give it our attention because it needs a wider focus. This also feeds into the fact we need more of a strategy in terms of not only preserving but renewing our woodland and hedgerows in the future. Perhaps this aspect was neglected during the good years. Do local authorities even bother with issues like Dutch elm disease or other tree diseases, or have resources become more scarce? I notice that ragwort, which is banned, seems to be everywhere throughout the country and along the roads. We have taken our eye off the ball on this, or perhaps it is not as serious a threat as it was in the past.

In the UK, a new website, ashtag.org, and a smartphone app were launched at the end of October to encourage the public to report trees showing symptoms. Can we do something similar here? It would be an example of using social media to contribute to addressing a serious problem.

Experience from Denmark and other badly affected countries suggested that street ash trees and those in parks are more likely to escape the disease than those in woodland. Because the disease is spread via spores on dead leaves, it might be practical to try to collect leaves from some trees. Do our plans include this? Unfortunately, the experience in other countries has shown it is almost impossible to fight the disease. Therefore, we must come up with some plans, as the Minister of State has done, to do with the dead or dying trees. If the situation does accelerate, what do we do with these trees? Could they be used for biomass energy or the firewood industry to generate heat and or electricity? This may be seen as a pessimistic view but I think we do have to plan.

We have certain EU regulations on importing dangerous plants but this experience shows we need more controls. Ireland's reputation has much to do with its food, forestry and nature, and we need to protect them. The Minister of State has taken a great many of the steps which need to be taken but an all-out effort is required on this issue. Senator Byrne spoke about the need to focus attention on a national effort and we need to do so. This is a very serious problem. The Minister of State has grabbed hold of it and let us ensure he gets the whole country behind him.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. I am glad Senator O'Neill put paid to the rumour going around Galway that Brian Cody and his team had something to do with the spread of the disease in Galway, Tipperary, Meath and Leitrim. I may suggest as a pre-budget submission that the Minister of State puts a levy on hurleys in Kilkenny to balance the competition across the country.

We will pay it with all-Ireland medals.

It is great to see my colleagues in the Seanad taking a united Ireland approach on this. In all seriousness, it is a case where an all-Ireland approach is essential. It is no harm to keep this in mind, and we could do so in many other areas also.

This is a very serious issue. The emergence some weeks ago of Chalara fraxinea, or ash dieback disease, at a forest in County Leitrim has caused great concern in the forestry industry. The disease was found at a site in Leitrim where 5,000 imported ash saplings were planted in 2009. They were part of a consignment of 35,000 saplings imported at the time. This is a highly contagious and damaging fungal disease which has already wiped out 90% of Denmark's ash population.

Ash is an important species in the Irish landscape. Approximately 10% of the ash planted under the Department's afforestation scheme is from imported sources with the remaining 90% home-produced. In all 3% of Irish forests are ash forests. This could certainly have very serious ramifications for the forestry and forestry projects industry. I understand more than 34,000 young ash trees have already been destroyed here. In particular, the industry involving the most obvious and most common ash product, the hurley, of which we need approximately 350,000 a year, is in severe difficulty as the Minister of State outlined. Naturally this has led to the Government putting in place controls. These were necessary and proportionate and we commend the Minister of State. The forest nurseries had a voluntary ban on imports from continental Europe.

We support the move to a full ban on importing ash plants. The Government's decision to ban all imports into Ireland of young ash plants and seed from countries with the fungal infection is welcome.

The Sinn Féin Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, MLA, has introduced a similar ban. There is co-operation between both Departments, North and South, to combat the threat. She welcomed the opportunity to co-operate with a fortress Ireland approach to plant health, which she has done on previous occasions with other Ministers, including Deputy Coveney.

Infections and diseases show little concern for borders. The issue highlights, just as with the outbreak of foot and mouth disease, that these threats present themselves on an island-wide basis. It also highlights the practical advantages of having a co-ordinated approach across the island. We support Deputy Coveney's ongoing efforts to ensure that the spread of disease can be curbed. The disease is carried through live plants and seeds and it is appropriate that their movement has been halted. We would be concerned if the ban was extended to the import of partially processed or processed ash if these measures are not successful. If it were deemed necessary then we would support the measure but we must make every effort to ensure that it does not come to that. It would be disastrous for hurley makers and could have an impact on the game. Eight out of ten hurleys used on Irish GAA pitches are made from imported timber, or from completed hurleys manufactured overseas. If we cannot import timber for hurleys they will start to become scarce and jobs in the hurley making industry could be at risk. Can the Minister of State outline how likely it is that such a ban might be put in place? What effect would it have on the hurley making industry? He may have addressed my query in his earlier replies.

Ireland has an abundance of young ash trees but most are many years away from maturity and are unsuitable for hurley manufacture. They could form the basis of the hurley industry in future. It may transpire that growers and farmers will decide to move away from growing an ash tree plantation due to the risk of disease. The Irish Guild of Ash Hurley Makers has outlined its concerns about the threat to the hurley ash industry and I welcome the fact that the Minister of State met its representatives today. The organisation had agreed to call on its members to ensure that ash wood for hurley making is either imported from countries free of the disease or that any hurley ash brought in from continental Europe would be in plank form with the bark sawn off.

It is not only hurley makers who are threatened by the disease. People who work in the forestry sector are concerned and so are those who work in other forestry product industries, such as making parts for furniture. We sincerely hope that the measures taken and the prompt response will ensure the survival of ash trees here. We urge the Government to continue to work closely with the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the North to stem the spread of disease. If the threat is aggressively dealt with then the good work of growing ash will be brought to fruition and we will produce ash for hurleys here on a larger scale.

I have listened intently to what has been said and we have had an interesting debate. A number of questions popped into my mind that I shall ask the Minister of State and I am sure that his officials will help him to respond. Are there other potential dangers to our trees and forests? We have all heard about the outbreak of the ash disease. Should we be looking out for other diseases that could harm other species of trees? Can the disease mutate and affect other trees? I am not a scientist and I do not come from a scientific background. Is there a danger that the disease will mutate?

Obviously the disease will need to be policed. Do we have the resources to monitor the disease? Do private forests have a self-policing regime? Does the Department monitor private forests? How do workers at private forests check and monitor their trees? Does the Department monitor them? If a forest or saplings must be destroyed what compensation measures have been put in place? How much does it cost? Who must pay for it?

I welcome the Minister of State. As all sides of the House have contributed to the debate, I shall not rehash the details. Naturally, there has been a great emphasis on the impact the outbreak is having on the hurley manufacturing industry. I know that he has been involved in consultations on the issue and I have a couple of questions for him. He said,

Ash trees planted on the 11 sites in question have been destroyed. This involved the destruction by cutting and burning of some 30,000 trees from the imported consignment and several thousand adjoining trees.

Is that happening in the UK? He further stated that diseased young trees would be removed and destroyed and, with regard to the action plan operated by the UK Government, he continued that "there are no plans to remove mature trees which are important for wildlife." Has the same happened here? Have mature trees been removed? If so, it will have an impact on wildlife. Can he clarify what happened to the several thousand adjoining trees?

The disease is long-term because its impact will not be known for a long time. Sadly, it was recently introduced into Ireland. I presume that the officials and scientists have advised the Minister of State that it could be between 20 and 30 years before we know its impact, particularly on dense woodlands. In terms of ongoing surveillance, what extra resources are needed by the Department? How will surveillance be addressed scientifically?

I am not sure whether other Senators have referred to it but I have tried to find out the cause of the outbreak. The main cause is our ongoing love affair with exotic plants. Experts have issued 13 times as many alerts on new plant infecting fungi as there were in 1995. The ash fungus may be one of the relatively few natural mutations that have occurred in recent times. Most of them have been triggered by human activities. Plant pathologists put the blame squarely on the trend for imported plants. The demand for exotic plants and already grown trees in gardens and public spaces has moved plants and their pathogens around the world in unprecedented numbers. In new environments the pathogens swop genes and evolve into forms for which species of nature have no resistance. The surging global trade in plants is essentially a huge microbiology experiment that is impacting on the forests of the world. It is a serious business. I presume that the Minister of State has been advised along the same line. A briefing was given to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine earlier today on foot of a request from me and others to get a handle on the problem. I am concerned about imported plants. Has he considered stopping the importation of exotic plants into this country? Is it a case of closing the door after the horse has bolted? It may be a drastic step but, for many generations, we have taken pride in home produced plants, trees and tree species.

Successive Governments have tried to introduce diversity into the agriculture sector, particularly when agricultural interests were resistant. I can recall, as Senator Comiskey does, signs being erected all over County Leitrim when it was first suggested that the county, because of its poor land and unsuitability for tillage farming, could grow trees faster than anywhere else in Europe. Sadly, people got in a mad rush and planted Sitka spruce which had a detrimental effect on fishing and some of our waterways. I am glad that there has been more diversity in recent years which was prompted by the Government.

It is ironic that the fungi was first identified in Leitrim because of its recent history of resistance to forestry. That resistance has never gone away completely. There is a latent resistance that dates back several hundred years. I want to know the Minister of State's view on exotic plants. Has the Department considered banning them or banning the importation of some of them? I did raise the issue of mature trees because they affect wildlife. Is it true that it could take a couple of decades before we know if the infestation is widespread? Is the Minister of State confident that the Department has managed to contain it? He referred to a consultation and implementing a voluntary code earlier. Am I right that the legislation will supersede the voluntary code? He referred to it but I am still a bit confused. He talked about what he did in consultation and that there would be a voluntary code. If it is voluntary then we are on a loser. What resources are being put in place to ensure that the legislation that he introduces will be enforced? As he will know from past experience, particularly in forestry, people can work around a law for their own gain. However, I do not suggest that they will because this is such a serious matter.

I am surprised that Sinn Féin should be surprised that the Government would engage in all-island consultations on something as important as this, but perhaps that is its members' mindset.

I did not say we were surprised.

The Senator did say so.

I am delighted with the debate. It is refreshing to listen to the views expressed by Members and I will now reflect on them.

Since the outbreak of Chalara fraxinea in Europe we have taken 32 samples of suspect cases from throughout the country. I am from a farming background and everybody knows about the traceability of our beef and dairy produce. I was delighted to discover that we have a traceability system in respect of our trees. It was fantastic to learn about the work that has been done by previous Governments.

Senator Mooney spoke of the disappointment in his county. I have been in County Leitrim, which is the home of forestry. I would not be apologising for anything. In County Leitrim they produce 13 million doorframes and it is the one county that is still planting trees. We had worries about getting the acres for planting. County Leitrim is leading the way. They see how they can benefit financially from it. I hold nothing back on that.

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill raised the issue of traceability. Chalara fraxinea is found in young plants and we have the capacity to trace where these plants have come from. Some diseased plants were among the 30,000 imported plants and some were on site in County Leitrim. While it was being tested, we were able to find out where the plants came from and where they were in other counties. The minute the test showed positive, those sites were taken out.

Senator Mooney asked why other trees were taken out. The reason is that 3,000 to 4,000 plants from a consignment of 30,000 trees were used to finish off a plantation in another county. The trees surrounding them within the same field were taken out. The plants were not in one specific corner but were in the middle of a plantation. That is the reason that up to 20,000 other trees were taken out.

Senator Ó Domhnaill was very anxious about traceability and he referred to Lar Corbett and hurling. I hope that when Lar goes up to County Donegal to train them how to hurl, it is on his performance of three years ago and not last year. The ash tree is used to make hurleys. Senator Comiskey has spoken about the industry and what it means to him.

Nobody could emphasise more strongly the points raised by Members today. We take this issue very seriously. My constituency colleague, Senator Thomas Byrne, spoke about a war cabinet. We have a war cabinet in place and hold a meeting every day and we bring in people when we come to make decisions. We are dealing seriously with this outbreak but we do not want to create panic. We talk about awareness and we notify the people in the industry immediately. Radio stations have picked up the information. The RTE programme "Ear to the Ground" will do a full programme on Chalara fraxinea tonight, even though I told them that they were three weeks too late. Now, we have the situation under control.

The work we will do in the next three to four months will determine how we can cut out all the risks. We are an island and we have been able to escape other diseases because of that. We have an opportunity in the next three to four months to deploy staff. Our inspectors have all met in the past two days and, as we speak, they are going out to all plantations where plants from abroad were imported and planted. The inspections will continue for the next week to ten days. We know exactly where every plant is. We must deal with our nurseries. Our meeting this morning was very constructive and new challenges relating to the hurley manufacturing industry and plant nurseries were raised. We will have a meeting in the Department tomorrow to see what further steps we can take to deal with them.

Senator Feargal Quinn outlined the seriousness of the disease and raised the issue of inspection. Inspections will be ongoing this week. We will get one chance to deal with this problem. Money will not be an issue. I made it quite clear on day one that there will be no compensation for anybody and there was not a word of it mentioned. The people who had imported the plants were prepared to replace them with a different species for replanting on the ten sites. The foresters brought in their equipment and, on behalf of the owners, went in and took out the trees free of charge. The Government will not stop the direct payments to the farmers and they will not be hindered and will get their payment in the same way as everybody else. We are continuing with the reforestation of these areas and will pay the lump sum at the beginning.

I am not a fool, but the next four or five months will be hard and cruel. Senator Byrne has put the gun to my head. This could be catastrophic, but we must remain cool and calm and be ruthless in dealing with it and work together.

I have covered all the issues that were raised during this constructive debate. We are taking this matter very seriously. I went into the Department red raw 15 months ago. I did not know we had traceability in the forestry industry as well as in the beef, pig and horse industries. It is a compliment to the staff in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. That is why we are the best. The work has been done down through the years, regardless of the parties in government. This has helped us. We must move forward, and what concerns me is whether whatever we do will be enough. We have three months and there are ways of recognising the disease in the winter months. It is not necessary to have leaves on the trees to recognise the disease. My officials have brought in the necessary expertise and we have support from others who are fond of and knowledgeable about trees. Inspections will take place. We have asked the gun clubs and others to help us. We have a poster campaign seeking the assistance of people and we will not have a problem in asking people to make specific sacrifices.

I thank Members for their contributions. We have held very constructive meetings. The people come together at a time of crisis. If the crisis deepens, we will deal with it in the same way each day. We will be ruthless and, with a bit of luck in 12 months time, we will have it under control.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Shane McEntee, for coming to the House. When is it proposed to sit again?

At 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 20 November 2012.

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