Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 671: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will provide a report as to the reason trees were felled in areas (details supplied) in County Dublin under the direction of her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21077/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Fireblight is a bacterial disease caused by Erwinia amylovora. It is a serious disease of apples, pears and other trees and shrubs in the family Rosaceae. The disease is native to North America and was introduced to Europe in the 1950s. It has since spread to most countries in Western Europe. Fireblight was first recorded in Ireland in 1986, but to date the disease has not become established here. An eradication policy coupled with co-operation from the public succeeded in reducing infection to a minimum level. Sampling of suspect material by the Department of Agriculture and Food has continued each year since then.

There are over 1,500 samples submitted for laboratory testing yearly and upwards of a dozen positive findings principally in Dublin and Cork Suburbs, along with a number of findings on nursery stock are detected.

All infected plants must be destroyed under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture and Food. It may also be necessary to destroy other adjacent host plants in order to control spread of the disease due to the issue of latency, where the plants may already be infected but have not yet expressed symptoms and so are sources of inoculum. The source of the infected material is then traced so that other infected plants may also be destroyed. The plant passport system facilitates the tracing of Fireblight host plants traded within EU.

With regard to the current situation in the Fingal area, trees that the Department has tested as positive for fireblight in the laboratory following sampling by staff from this Department, have been removed and destroyed. Host trees in the same stand are also removed to prevent further spread of the disease. To date it is estimated that Fingal County Council have removed approximately 450 host trees in the areas Sutton, Portmarnock, Malahide and Howth following positive findings.

This Department is currently endeavouring to demarcate the zone of infection that appears to be primarily linked to older roadside plantings of Whitebeam and Mountain ash. Residents in all the areas concerned have been circulated with detailed information and encouraged to contact this Department if they are aware of any suspect material, to date there has only been one finding in a private garden but extensive follow up is ongoing.