Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last week we had one of our best Seanad debates with the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Shane McEntee, on ash dieback disease. I thank the Leader for arranging that debate and commend the Minister of State on his enthusiasm. I was joined by a number of botanists at the David Webb centenary celebration on Friday. There are several dangers in this area. It emerged during last week's debate that the United Kingdom had largely given up and that it was up to us to protect our stock of ash trees. This outbreak is likely to be ten times as devastating as Dutch elm disease. On Friday botanists expressed their fear that the burning of saplings might spread the spores of the fungus and thereby make matters worse. Concern was also expressed that the GAA, a strongly nationalist organisation, was importing 70% to 90% of its hurleys and thus bringing the disease into the country. I would like to ask the Minister of State whether Ireland could become an island nursery for disease-free trees and whether he could address the fears expressed by botanists that the next wave of these diseases will affect oak trees. The Seanad responded splendidly to a national problem by stressing the all-Ireland dimension. If the UK mainland is not successful in avoiding this disease, the North-South dimension will be important. By expanding the study of these matters in Irish universities, rather than allowing it to contract, we could develop an island nursery for native trees and thereby avoid the destruction by imported diseases of the landscape and the tourism and other amenities which depend on it.