Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2023
412. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will advise on measures his Department is taking to prevent the arrival of the Asian hornet in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39594/23]
View answerMy Department is responsible for the implementation of the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation (1143/2014) which provides for a range of concerted EU wide measures to be taken with respect to listed species of Union concern (the 'Union list'). Asian hornet is included on the Union list.
Led by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and colleagues in the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, work is continuing on advancing the response structures required should Asian hornet be detected in Ireland.
There has been only one verified sighting, in May 2021, of Asian hornet in Ireland to date. There has been no evidence of an established population since then and there have been no further verified sightings.
However, following that sighting, both NPWS and DAFM committed to immediate additional surveillance for the Asian Hornet, especially around entry points in Ireland with direct access to mainland Europe including ports and airports along with large distribution hubs.
Hornets are small and extremely mobile pests. While every effort is made to prevent its entry into the country, the focus of our work in this area is ensuring a rapid response to any sighting of the Asian hornet and immediate action to eliminate the pest in the case of a verified sighting. The overarching aim is to prevent the species becoming established.
As part of this work, the Department of Agriculture runs a sentinel surveillance programme for Asian hornet, with the cooperation of volunteer beekeepers. This involves surveillance for Asian Hornet at apiaries located at strategic locations around Ireland.
The National Biodiversity Data Centre operate a sighting report alert system, which allows members of the public to notify the authorities of sightings or suspected sightings. Verification expertise, including experts at the National Museum of Ireland, is in place to rapidly identify reported suspected sightings of Asian hornet.
In addition, awareness of Asian hornet is included in the wider NBDC pollinator workshops. Officials from the NPWS also participate in the British Irish Council Asian Hornet Task Force which provides for information sharing on how to deal with the species from administrations who have extensive experience of the hornet in their areas (e.g. the island of Jersey).
Further detail and information on the Asian hornet, and measures that can be taken to prevent its introduction and establishment, is available at the following link: invasives.ie/species-alerts/asian-hornet/
