Forestry Ministers Highlight All-Ireland Approach To Plant Health

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Michelle O’Neill has joined her counterpart in the Republic of Ireland Tom Hayes to highlight the importance of cross-border cooperation in tackling plant disease across Ireland.

The Ministers were speaking at the All-Ireland Chalara ash dieback Conference in Dundalk, where they informed delegates that findings of the disease in Ireland have been limited mainly to recently imported material.

Chalara ash dieback is a disease of ash trees that has been found in Northern Ireland in recently-established ash woodlands planted with imported ash trees.

Speaking at the conference, Minister O’Neill said: "My Department is committed to enhancing tree and plant health on an all-Ireland basis and since the launch of the All-Ireland Chalara Control Strategy in July last year, Minister Hayes and I have been working hard through the North South Ministerial Council to encourage co-operation on the island to enhance plant health status, to respond to tree and plant disease outbreaks and to share knowledge and experience."

Minister Hayes said there were a total of 120 confirmed findings of the disease located throughout the Republic. Of these, 47 are located in forests, with the remainder at non-forest locations.

The conference was attended by over 100 delegates across the Island and provided an update on the current scientific understanding of the pathogen/host interaction, experience of the disease in Ireland, Britain and Norway, the potential impact of the disease on nature conservation in Ireland, research into modelling spread of ash dieback and potential disease management strategies.

(IT)