There are a number of actions within the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) which require the planting of either hedgerow plants or trees. The requirements for these actions are set out in the ACRES Specification document for each Tranche, which is available on my Department’s website.
One of the requirements, for example, in relation to the ‘Planting a new hedgerow’ action is, as indicated by the Deputy, that ‘plants must be of Irish Origin or Irish Provenance and purchased from DAFM registered professional operators’.
My Department considered it prudent, as part of the development work on the proposed interventions in Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan for 2023-2027, to alert nurseries of potential demand for plants following the roll-out of new schemes from 2023.
A Trader Notice (No. 12 of 2021) was accordingly issued in December 2021, by the Horticulture and Plant Health Division of my Department, to all professional operators highlighting the anticipated demand for plants from farmers arising from participation in the eco-scheme and ACRES and advising that there would be strong farmer demand for trees and hedging plants over the period 2023-2027. This Notice also indicated the proposed tree and hedgerow species and size(s) required under these schemes.
In response to the heightened demand for hedgerow plants in recent months, my Department has notified ACRES advisors that participants who select the Whitethorn species, Crataegus monogyna, as their chosen hedgerow species for a new hedgerow will no longer have to meet the Irish Provenance or Irish Origin requirement when purchasing plants from DAFM registered professional operators. This is a limited amendment to the requirements as the removal of the Irish Provenance/Irish Origin requirement relates to Whitethorn species only and does not encompass the other seven hedgerow species that are listed in the specification for that action. The amendment applies to the planting of new hedgerows included in ACRES contracts issued under ACRES Tranche 1 and those to be issued under ACRES Tranche 2, and also for the relevant Non-Productive Investments (NPIs) if/when approved for ACRES Co-operation participants. ACRES Circular No. 27 of 2023, which is also available on my Department’s website, refers.
Under EU Plant Health Regulation 2016/2031/EU, any operator who is professionally involved in the following activities concerning plants, plant products and other objects must register with my Department:
• planting,
• reeding,
• production (including growing, multiplying and maintaining plants),
• introduction into and movement within and out of the EU territory,
• making plants available on the market, as well as
• storage, procession, dispatching and processing of plants and plant products.
The process involves an operator submitting a Professional Operator Registration form to the Department. When registered, the operator will be issued a unique Plant Health Registration Number (PHR No.). Detailed information on the registration process, and also the authorisation process for issuing plant passports, is available on my Department’s website at www.gov.ie/planthealth.
