Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 December 2023
427. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what bio-security measures are currently in place to appropriately assess imported timber given the current risk posed by the great spruce bark beetle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53285/23]
View answer428. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in light of the current threat posed by the great spruce bark beetle, if his Department is of the view that the facilities and biosecurity measures are currently in place for the assessment and quality control of timber when imported are sufficient; if the Department has any plans to re-assess or change these measures to appropriately address this threat; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53286/23]
View answer429. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if every timber shipment imported is examined to ensure it is of the highest quality and it does not pose a biosecurity risk; how timber imports are examined - by visual assessment or by x-ray; if shipments are actively being checked for the great spruce bark beetle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53287/23]
View answer430. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has any plans to liaise with the relevant authorities in Northern Ireland to co-ordinate an all-island approach with regard to measures taken to prevent the importation of the great spruce bark beetle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53288/23]
View answer431. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine following the discovery of the great spruce bark beetle in Scotland, if there is any co-ordination between the Department and the relevant Scottish authorities to ensure the great spruce bark beetle is not present in timber shipments coming to Ireland; if there is any certification or authentication process verifying that the beetle is not present in timber shipments coming from Scotland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53289/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 427, 428, 429, 430 and 431 together.
Coniferous roundwood is both imported into and exported out of Ireland. All imports into Ireland must be compliant with the EU Plant Health Regulation and importers must be registered as Professional Operators. Similarly, any action Ireland takes in response to threats from pests must also be compliant with EU Plant Health Regulations and the International Plant Protection Convention.
Importers in Ireland are prohibited from importing roundwood from areas known to be affected by quarantine bark beetle species. The only area internationally where imports into Ireland of coniferous roundwood with bark is permitted is from a specific UK Government authority assigned ‘Pest Free Area’ (PFA) in the West of Scotland. In light of recent developments with bark beetles in Great Britain, found outside of their ‘Pest Free Area’, this Department has been engaging directly with Scottish forestry authorities, Northern Ireland and the European Commission to ensure that the pest free status of the island of Ireland is maintained.
My Department maintains very close contact on plant health matters with its counterpart Department in Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (DAERA), in the context of the consideration of the island of Ireland as a single epidemiological unit. This contact includes discussions on policy regarding roundwood imports from Scotland.
My Department has an ongoing dialogue with the Scottish Authorities on matters related specifically to the Pest Free area and log imports into Ireland.
The Scottish Authorities carry out a range of surveys for bark beetles, including aerial surveillance, pheromone trapping and on the ground surveys. These surveys have been ongoing for several years and no instance of spruce bark beetles of concern to Ireland have been found within the PFA.
In addition, I understand that the felling sites in the PFA, where timber is due to be exported to Ireland, are subject to an inspection regime, as part of their phytosanitary certification system.
Imports of roundwood logs from this PFA in Scotland are subject to an inspection regime by my Department. This involves documentary, identity and plant health physical checks at the port. All imports from the PFA must be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate which is issued by the UK Government authority, in accordance with the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), to attest that the logs meet the phytosanitary import requirements of Ireland and the EU, and are in conformity with the certifying statement.
In addition, and in order to support the proof of origin of the roundwood (i.e. the PFA), Phytosanitary Certificates provide identification of the specific forest location from which the roundwood is sourced. All documents associated with roundwood imports are inspected to verify the phytosanitary import requirements for the Protected Zone of Ireland are satisfied and the roundwood originates from an area within the PFA, and these are recorded and mapped to identify and track roundwood source locations.
Inspections at the port involve sampling of logs from the shipment in accordance with a standard operational procedure. A sample of logs from various parts of the ship are brought to a safe examination area and are visually examined. Any beetles found are identified and any beetles found to date are beetles that we already have in Ireland and are not of quarantine significance. Physical inspection of logs at the port do not take place for every import consignment.
There are three ports where roundwood logs are imported into Ireland. These are Rushbrooke port and Passage West port in Co. Cork and Wicklow port. These three ports are designated Border Control Posts for roundwood logs where inspection facilities have been put in place.
