Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Environment and Local Government, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I look forward to learning more from him than I can impart on this subject. Phytophthora ramorum is a deadly fungus, causing sudden death.

Joe O'Toole (Independent)
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On a point of order, the Minister of State is from Cork so I ask Senator Coghlan to speak slowly.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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From a discussion I had with him earlier I know the Minister of State is well aware of this matter and well briefed.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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What was that?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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It is a very aggressive plant disease and poses a serious threat. Sessile oaks are unique to Derrycunnihy and Tomies as well as one or two other locations in Ireland. Thankfully this is a different type of oak to the turkey oak and others this disease wiped out in parts of California and other areas in the United States.

What precautionary measures has the Minister planned to ensure the disease does not spread? Our oak trees are vital and the Minister of State is aware of the beauty of Derrycunnihy, Tomies and the heart of Killarney National Park. What species, if any, act as a host plant? We are fortunate it has only attacked rhododendron. Over the past few years people have tried to wipe out this invasive disease, which is a danger. Are there any theories as to why only 25 rhododendron bushes have been affected so far? I am slightly suspicious about how it got in there but I dare not say anything further. Perhaps the Minister of State can advise on the plant that acts as a host plant and the precautionary measures envisaged to ensure it does not spread.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Coghlan for raising this important matter. There have been a number of findings of the fungus phytophthora ramorum, which can cause damage to a range of plant species of rhododendron in Killarney National Park. The disease does not affect humans. Since first reported in the United States in the mid-1990s, a wide variety of tree and plant species have been damaged or killed in California and other parts of the western United States by a disease that has become commonly known as sudden oak death. The disease was caused by this fungus.

The situation is closely monitored by the EU Commission's plant health committee, on which Ireland is represented by the Department of Agriculture and Food. This fungus is regulated under EU Commission decisions that have been transposed into Irish law under SI 578 of 2004, made by the Minister for Agriculture and Food. These regulations provide for import controls into the EU on susceptible plants and wood from areas in the USA where the disease is known to occur, controls on the movement of certain susceptible plants within the EU and provision for surveys to be carried out in all member states.

The fungus has been found in recent years in many EU member states including Ireland. The vast majority of the findings have been on plants of the rhododendron and viburnum species. There have also been a number of findings on various tree species in Great Britain and the Netherlands. However, I am happy to inform Senator Coghlan that no tree species has yet been affected in Killarney National Park.

During the course of the 2005 national survey, carried out with the co­operation of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department, the Department of Agriculture and Food identified approximately 25 infected rhododendron plants in Killarney National Park. Significantly, worldwide, there have been no findings to date of this fungus on sessile oak or pedunculate oak, which are important native tree species in Ireland and a key component of the Killarney National Park oak woodlands referred to by the Senator.

Under the Department of Agriculture and Food regulations, measures are now being taken by that Department and my Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service to control and prevent the spread of the disease in Killarney National Park. These measures include the destruction of all known infected material; a prohibition on the removal of susceptible plants or plant products, in particular rhododendron, from the confines of Killarney National Park; and the erection of signage advising people not to remove any plant material, especially rhododendron, from the national park.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department has moved swiftly to implement all of these measures of control and prevention of the disease in Killarney National Park. In particular, it has started clearing the infected rhododendron plants as prescribed by the Department of Agriculture and Food. This is a slow process. However, we must take great care to ensure that it is done properly and that any threat to the important oak woodlands of Killarney National Park is avoided.

The Senator will be aware that my Department has placed a high priority on eliminating rhododendron from Killarney National Park, which is a long-term project. This year alone €500,000 has been provided for this purpose, with similar amounts to be made available in the years to come. I assure the Senator that all necessary steps are being taken to eliminate the disease within the national park and to protect its important oak woodlands.