Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a really important issue. This is not just about red fire ants but also the broader issue of biosecurity, which as he rightly said, in the context of our changing climate is a growing concern that needs greater vigilance in terms of the many different threats that we can face. To answer his question as to who is responsible, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is responsible for the implementation of the EU's invasive alien species regulation No. 1143/2014, which provides for a range of concerted EU-wide measures to be taken with respect to listed species of Union concern, known as the Union list. The red fire ant or solenopsis invicta, is included on the Union list. There are currently 88 species listed as being invasive alien species of Union concern but only 12 of these species have been recorded in Ireland as established.

While there have been reports recently of red fire ants arriving in the south of Europe, and that a population in the wild has been reported in Sicily, it is important to note that this is the first such report in Europe and there is no evidence that the species is present in Ireland. The species is largely a tropical or subtropical species. There is no evidence of expansion into temperate zones and nor is this anticipated in the immediate future. The areas currently most at risk of invasion by red fire ants are coastal port cities on the Mediterranean Sea. However, as with all potential invasive alien species threats, pathway management and preparation is important to reduce the risk of an isolated arrival turning into a more widespread problem.

In this context, the NPWS recently published three priority pathway action plans in accordance with Article 13 of the EU invasive alien species regulation and these plans can be accessed on the website www.invasives.ie. One of these plans is for the soil and spoil material introductory pathway, an identified pathway for insects. Border biosecurity and preventing establishment is the best option available for keeping these and any other species on the Union list out of Ireland. These are areas addressed by the pathway action plans. For example, for all small mobile invasive alien species, there can be issues with stowaways within trade goods, agricultural fodder, horticultural material and imported materials. These should be adequately cleaned and that needs action and vigilance at points of entry.

The National Biodiversity Data Centre, NBDC, operates a sighting report alert system which allows members of the public to notify the authorities of sightings or suspected sightings of invasive alien species. Verification expertise, including from experts at the National Museum of Ireland, is in place to rapidly identify reported suspected sightings. Officials from the NPWS also participate in the British Irish Council Invasive Non-Native Species, INNS, working group which provides a forum for information sharing on how to deal with various species of common concern and horizon scanning of invasive alien species threats across administrations in Ireland and Great Britain. Furthermore, the current programme for Government contains a commitment to the development of a national management plan for invasive alien species. Work on this plan is well under way. The NPWS engaged in a scoping exercise with the NBDC to look at how best such a plan could be developed and implemented in a way that collates the range of important work on invasive alien species that is carried out nationally, locally and by stakeholders across Departments and agencies. The draft plan is currently being considered by a steering committee chaired by NPWS, which met for the first time in March 2023. It has since met in June and will convene again later this month. The NPWS intends to have a final draft of the plan ready for public consultation later this year and envisages that the plan will be finalised and launched in 2024.

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