Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Landy for this opportunity to update the House on the current situation on chalara fraxinea, the disease otherwise known as ash dieback. I assure him that we in Galway intend to make significant use of ash for many years to come.

The disease, which was identified for the first time in Ireland in October 2012 has, I regret to inform the House, spread throughout the country. At the current time there are a total of 120 cases of the disease. Some 47 of these cases are located in forest plantations, 21 are in nurseries and garden centres, 21 are in farms, some of which were planted as part of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's agri-environment options scheme, AEOS, and rural environment protection scheme, REPS, four were in private gardens, 25 were roadside plantings and two were in hedgerows. A total of 14 of the 120 cases were confirmed in 2014.

It is important that I take this opportunity to highlight the significant effort that the Department has put into trying to contain this very destructive disease. As a first step ash has been removed from the list of tree species approved under the afforestation grant schemes.

In recent years 10% of the planting programme was made up of ash. This was followed up in November 2012 when national legislative measures were introduced under the Destructive Insects and Pest Acts 1958 and 1991 to regulate the import of ash seed, plants and wood. In tandem, similar legislation was introduced in Northern Ireland. A major winter survey of ash plantations was undertaken by the Department soon after the disease was identified. This exercise focused on trees planted between 2008 and 2012. It included surveying of hedgerows, nurseries, roadside, landscape and farm plantings as well as forest plantations, the outcome of which was the confirmation of further findings of the disease. The survey was broadened to an ongoing growing season survey of ash planted over a much longer period.
Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have worked closely with colleagues in Northern Ireland so that a framework could be put in place to support the implementation of a cohesive all-Ireland response to this issue. To this end, the all-Ireland Chalaracontrol strategy was launched by the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Tom Hayes, and Minister O'Neill from Northern Ireland in July 2013. We continue to implement this strategy and see it as an important contributor in addressing the threat posed by Chalaraon the island of Ireland.
In terms of controlling the disease itself, arrangements have been put in place to remove all ash trees from the forest sites where the disease has been confirmed and from associated sites where trees from the same infected batches have also been planted. Eradication is also being carried out under the Department's supervision at non-forest locations. This work is being undertaken by staff from the forest service of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in conjunction with the relevant forestry contractors, the IFA and landowners in order to ensure as smooth a process as possible. In March 2013 a Chalarareconstitution scheme was introduced to help forest owners affected by the disease. This scheme provides financial support for site clearance, as well as funding for the replanting of the site with a suitable alternative species. So far funding has been allocated in respect of 560 ha under the scheme and over €1 million has been paid to forest owners in grants.
The Department also continues its efforts to increase awareness of ash dieback and the serious threat posed by this disease. Early detection can allow for these plantations to be destroyed as soon as possible, thereafter preventing further infection from occurring. To this end a total of 22 Chalara information meetings, organised by the Department and Teagasc, were held throughout the country. These took place during the month of May 2013. Approximately 800 people attended and information was provided on what to look out for and the implications in terms of clearance of a forest plantation. Clarification was also given at these meetings on the implications for AEOS and REPS farmers where the disease is found on the trees planted under these schemes. These farmers can apply to the Department for force majeureconsideration, in which case payments will continue unaffected and there is no obligation to replant.
Following discussions with the GAA a one-page advertisement was placed in the match programme for the 2013 All-Ireland Hurling Final replay requesting patrons to look out for symptoms of ash dieback. In addition, the GAA has included an article in the monthly newsletter sent out to every club in the country in an effort to raise awareness further. Information continues to be disseminated through a poster campaign, advertisements and posting information to the Departments website. In May of this year an all-Ireland Chalara conference was held, the aim of which was to update all interested parties on the latest developments with regard to the disease in Ireland and Europe as a whole. This conference, which was also attended by Minister O'Neill, provided an opportunity for experts to share information on dealing with this disease and to focus on the most recent developments regarding resistant strains of the species.
Chalarais a relatively new disease to science and consequently research is going to play a key role in stopping it. The Department has been working with scientists in Britain on a Chalaramodelling exercise. This will help predict the likely patterns of spread and, in turn, facilitate a more focused allocation of resources in terms of surveillance and control measures. In the longer term we must continue to work with industry, universities, farmers, landowners, voluntary organisations and the general public to explore and develop ways of minimising both the economic and environmental impacts of ash dieback. One of the most important areas of work is in the identification of possible resistance in ash. As part of this effort, Irish ash plants have been planted at a range of sites in south-east England to test for resistance. The research, which is funded in part by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, is being carried out by Forest Research, an agency of the Forestry Commission. In addition, the Department has launched a competitive call for research proposals on breeding ash for resistance and on modelling disease spread.
In terms of supply, Ireland requires in the region of 2,100 cu. m of hurley ash per annum, representing approximately 360,000 hurleys. Well over 70% of ash timber is imported to meet this demand. There is almost 20,000 ha of ash in the country, most of which is less than 20 years old. It is anticipated that we will rely on imports for the next five to seven years until these ash plantations reach the appropriate size. In the longer term, we must concentrate our efforts on trying to identify resistant species of ash so that we can begin to plant ash again as part of a national planting programme.