Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to this very important issue. There has been much coverage in the news, both here and in the UK, about the emergence of a disease that is fatal to the ash tree. Ash dieback disease is known to kill 90% of the trees it infects. I know the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, has done much good work around this issue so I do not wish to detract from that.

In Ireland there is a 90% sufficiency in native ash plants but we must import 10% of ash plants from abroad, and it is from these imported sources that the greatest risk to our native ash population exists. We must become 100% self-sufficient in the area. We have the capacity to orchestrate a horticultural programme to provide an import substitution with our native ash species. Another vital objective is the need to reduce the spread of this disease and protect the native trees, and we must build resilience in our natural forestry, encouraging everybody involved - farmer, landowner and industry professionals - to come together to protect what we have.

If we can slow its spread and minimise its impact, we will gain valuable time to find and isolate the native trees that have genetic resistance to the disease and restructure our valuable woodlands accordingly. However, in order to do this we must know where we currently stand in the fight against ash dieback. Perhaps the Minister of State will outline the current stage of the disease and if it has been found in mature trees as well as saplings.

Advice from scientists points to more difficulty in eradicating the disease if it is caught in older trees but this should not point to an end of the ash tree population. There is much evidence from Sweden of dealing with the disease, particularly through using genetics. Could we harvest our native wild ash and build up a database so that if we get into difficulty in future, we could call that database? The seed database exists in County Clare. The Minister of State might understand that as I come from Kilkenny, it is a major worry.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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I very much share the concerns of my colleague. We may have fewer all-Ireland titles in Clare than in Kilkenny but we make many more hurleys. I do not know what that says about our hurling style or efficiency.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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The Deputy's county has fewer all-Ireland titles than us as well.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Keep making them.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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I hope we will continue to use them in matches with Kilkenny. As so many hurleys are made in Clare, it is an important source of revenue and employment. Deputy Phelan mentioned that there is a Seed Savers in Scarriff, my own parish. As Deputy Phelan brought it up I do not feel embarrassed about mentioning it. The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, visited it with me and I very much encourage that work, particularly with the current threat to our ash plants.

One hurley maker in Clare employs six people and makes between 60,000 to 70,000 hurleys per year. There are several other hurley makers across County Clare from Tuamgraney, Ogonnelloe, Broadford, Kilmurry, Kilkishen and Tubber. As the Minister of State will know from his relatively recent visit to Clare, there is not a hedgerow in east or mid Clare which does not feature the beautiful silver bark of ash trees. I am very concerned about the threat posed by ash dieback and would like to hear how the Minister of State proposes to deal with the threat. It is both a threat to our biodiversity and employment in County Clare.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. No adult trees currently have the problem. The work we started in the past two weeks will continue for the next month or six weeks and will determine how we save Irish ash trees and become self-sufficient in ash by 2020. Much hard work lies ahead and members of the public, the National Roads Authority, the Irish Farmers Association and those who operate the agri-environment options and rural environment protection schemes, AEOS and REPS, have an important role to play in this regard. Of the utmost importance is the co-operation taking place between my Department and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the North, which is headed by the Sinn Féin Minister, Ms Michelle O'Neill, MLA. The plant issue will be addressed on an all-island basis and both I and my Northern counterpart have given a commitment to act together. We need to take action now because the danger presented by Chalara fraxinea, also known as ash dieback disease, is much greater in June and July when spores spread. Last week, acting on instructions from the Department, inspectors commenced a process of inspecting every imported ash tree. The Department's traceability systems mean we have the capacity to identify the location of nearly every ash tree imported under the AEOS or REPS. My officials had a good meeting with representatives of the Irish Farmers Association this morning and on Thursday representatives of the National Roads Authority will provide us with information on where it has planted ash.

We know what must be done and it is our intention to ensure that every ash tree imported since 2007 is accounted for. Those plants for which records cannot be provided will be destroyed. The Department is carrying out tests and inspections are taking place.

I now propose to provide the official reply. I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter. Chalara fraxinea poses a major threat to ash plantations throughout the island and those forest industries which rely on the ash species for their business, most notably, the hurley making sector. With 3% of the national estate under ash and 10% of all new planting made of ash species, my Department took swift action to address this threat. I assure the House that it is doing everything possible to protect one of our most important native species. Chalara fraxinea has spread rapidly across much of Europe, with the majority of European countries where ash is present reporting dieback. Since 2008, the Department's forestry inspectorate staff have been carrying out surveys to monitor and determine the disease's status in Ireland.

Ash plants and wood with bark imported from countries where the disease is known to occur constitute the most likely source of infection in this country. Approximately 200,000 ash plants and 1,600 cu. m of roundwood ash for hurley manufacture are imported per annum. My Department confirmed the finding of the disease at sites in counties Leitrim, Galway, Tipperary and Meath, all of which come from one consignment of ash plants. The Department responded by cutting and burning the entire batch last month. We are aware of the possibility that other consignments of infected material could have made their way into the country and departmental officials are currently carrying out an extensive nationwide survey of forests planted with imported ash. Legislation was also introduced to deal with the threat of further occurrences of the disease from imported material. On 26 October legal measures were introduced to prohibit the importation of plant material from ash dieback infected areas. These measures, which were introduced by ministerial order, took effect immediately. Until that point, a voluntary import moratorium had been in place by forest nurseries. Further legislation, which took effect on 6 November, restricts ash wood movement.

On the supply of ash wood for hurley making, it is estimated that 2,100 cu. m of ash wood is required per annum. This equates to approximately 360,000 hurleys. Coillte, the State forestry board, supplies roughly 400 cu. m of this material, while the private sector provides a further 100 cu. m. The remainder, amounting to 1,600 cu. m is imported. In terms of output, hurley making is worth between €6 million and €8 million per annum to the economy and it is clear that supply is a major concern for them. To help alleviate any potential supply problems, my Department has been in contact with Coillte, which has agreed to bring forward harvesting schedules for ash. It will also work with its counterpart in the United Kingdom with a view to securing additional supply. Incidentally, the Deputies opposite need not be concerned that County Meath will take any hurling crowns.

On the specific questions regarding the establishment of a DNA database for indigenous ash plants, Ireland has begun to collect some information on forest genetic resources as part of its national forestry surveys. It is intended that gene conservation strategies and programmes for specific tree species will be further developed. In this regard, a gene conservation strategy for ash has been introduced. However, we must be mindful of the risk of this disease becoming established in Ireland and consider the development of breeding programmes for Chalara fraxinea resistant Irish ash trees. While we do not know what level of resistance Irish ash will have to the disease, experience from countries where the disease has been identified suggests there is some natural resistance in some ash trees. Breeding programmes, therefore, have the potential to improve species' resistance. We must think ahead and try to future proof our ash plantations from this disease.

I assure forest owners who have been directly affected by Chalara fraxinea that the Department will continue to provide the technical support necessary until the matter has been fully resolved. Department officials are also examining the options available in terms of re-establishing the affected plantations and restoring them to their condition prior to the confirmation of the presence of Chalara fraxinea. I intend to closely monitor the position and take whatever steps or measures are necessary to protect this important species.

Every member of the general public will be asked to co-operate in our efforts. We intend to have identified within ten days the location of every imported ash plant. This will be achieved with the assistance of the farming community, National Roads Authority and forestry section of the Department. We have much work to do and, as I noted, the next three months will be crucial.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I am pleased to learn that we will be self-sufficient in ash by 2020. The idea that it will be necessary to use plastic hurleys in Croke Park is repugnant. However, we may still be able to beat the opposition, even with plastic hurleys.

I was contacted by a concerned constituent who owns a sizeable ash plantation of 46 acres. Planted in 1992, it has been described by Teagasc as one of the largest broadleaf forests in the country. Are plans in place to compensate such farmers in the event that it becomes necessary to destroy their forests?

Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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It is clear from the figures cited by the Minister of State that more than one quarter of the hurleys manufactured here are made in County Clare. This issue is, therefore, a source of considerable concern for hurley makers.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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They must be sending them to County Kilkenny.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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We are certainly not sending many to County Mayo.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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We do not want their diseases.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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I played hurling reasonably well and would have a game with the Deputy if he wishes.

While the country should be self-sufficient in ash by 2020, hurley makers will have to import ash in the meantime. I understand from the regulations introduced by the Minister on 7 November that any imported ash will have to be squared so as to remove entirely the rounded surface or be free of bark and have a water content of less than 20%. These requirements will impose considerable additional costs on hurley makers who will have to be given a subsidy if they are to avoid imposing these costs on consumers, that is, young boys and girls who play hurling and camogie. Deputy Ann Phelan asked whether a subsidy will be made available for ash growers. Will a subsidy be made available to hurley makers to avoid them passing on additional costs to consumers?

Bark is one of the means of spreading ash dieback disease. Firewood, much of which is imported, is not subject to the same level of documentation as ash plants imported for the purposes of making hurleys. Ash could be present in a large bundle of mixed woods, for example, or ash residue could be present at the bottom of a shipment of firewood. How will this matter be monitored at ports of entry? I commend the Minister on taking an all-Ireland approach to the problem.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I will respond to the questions in reverse order. The importation of timber for firewood is being dealt with at the ports. Last year, permission to unload a full shipment of firewood was refused and we required a supermarket to withdraw from its shelves material on which bark was present.

The same will apply to all supermarkets, stations and even people selling from the back of lorries. We have the manpower at the ports.

Regarding compensation, everything to date has been done voluntarily by farmers, growers and foresters. Those who supplied the plants have committed to reimbursing people with a different species. Ash will not be replanted on land that has been infected. Currently, there is no compensation. We will not wipe out any plantation unnecessarily and we will continue to pay the premiums to the ten sites in question. We will also pay for a new planting programme.

We met the hurley makers last week and will do so again. Since they are coming under pressure, counties Kilkenny and Clare might also be put under pressure.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Off the field.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The movement of ash is coming to a halt, but we have not discussed compensation. We are consulting the GAA. If everything works out and everyone does his or her bit, there will have been no mention of compensation by next March.