Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad this afternoon and thank him for coming to discuss this most important issue. Ash dieback disease is a relatively recently described fungal disease of ash, which was first named back as far as 2006, although ash dieback symptoms had been noticed in Poland back as far as the early 1990s. The harmful reproductive stage of the fungus, a new species, was later discovered in 2010. The disease has spread rapidly across much of Europe, with the majority of European countries where ash is present now reporting the disease.

Ireland's first case of ash dieback infection was confirmed in 2012, as the Minister of State has said, in a young forestry plantation in my own county, Leitrim, which had been planted with imported trees. The trees on this site, and on ten other sites planted with the same batch of trees, were subsequently destroyed under the Department's supervision. Following this first finding, the Department carried out a major survey of ash and continues to survey for this disease in forestry plantations, nurseries, roadsides and on farms. Common ash is susceptible to Chalara, ash dieback disease, as are several other species of ash. The disease can affect ash trees of any age and in any setting. Death of trees can occur, with younger trees less than ten years old succumbing more rapidly. It is likely that plants imported from other European countries are the highest risk pathway to spread the disease in Ireland.Wood, including firewood, is also likely to be a pathway. The wide range of symptoms associated with ash dieback disease includes necrotic lesions and cankers along the bark of branches or main stem; foliage wilt; foliage discolorations, namely, brown or black discoloration at the base and midrib of the leaves; dieback of shoots, twigs or main stem, resulting in crown dieback; epicormic branching or excessive side shoots along the main stem; and a brown-orange discoloration of the bark.

To date, approximately 693 ha of ash forestry plantations have been cleared and replanted with alternative species, according to figures released by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. A high proportion of the areas cleared are plantations which were associated with infected imported batches but which were not necessarily infected. These associated plantations were destroyed on a precautionary basis. This work involved the uprooting and deep burial of about 2 million ash trees since 2012, which is a huge number of trees to be destroyed. It is important that the Government takes action on this serious problem and some measures have already been put in place. The forestry planting programme 2014-2020 provides new opportunities for landowners, including attractive forestry establishment and support grants. One of the measures currently open to applications is the reconstitution scheme. This measure provides support for those affected by ash dieback. A site clearance grant of up to €1,500 per hectare and replanting grants of up to €5,000 per hectare are available.

The recent launch of the TreeCheck app by the Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, and the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms Michelle O'Neill, is also to be welcomed. This web-based smartphone app enables the public to help safeguard tree and forest health across the island of Ireland. It is essential that we all play our part in protecting the economy and the environment. The positive contribution that engagement by the public can make towards safeguarding plant health is increasingly recognised. TreeCheck will enable members of the public throughout Ireland to use their smartphone to report details and send a photograph of suspected trees or evidence of insect damage to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, or to the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, for investigation. Using any GPS-enabled smartphone, the location of the suspected tree may also be captured by the app to allow inspection if required. Once received, the ill-health reports will be assessed by plant health officials and will be followed up if serious pest or disease is suspected. The app will also help with the early detection of new and existing harmful pests and diseases.

Research being carried out in UCD on modelling the airborne spread of ash dieback disease will assess the risk of ash dieback across Ireland. I also recommend that further research be carried out in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, because there were several cases around that area and there is a facility there that is run by Teagasc. It would be a great opportunity for it to do more research if more ash dieback were found.

All these measures are to be welcomed. It is extremely important that we all do what we can to control the spread of ash dieback and to eliminate the disease. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today to discuss this important issue and look forward to hearing more of the views from Senators.