Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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267. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the status of ash tree disease given that nurseries are awaiting replies from his Department. [42556/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department has been engaged in a number of actions in combatting the ash dieback disease during the course of 2015. This has included a large scale systematic and targeted survey of forests, nurseries, hedgerows, agricultural environmental schemes and roadside plantings across the whole of the country which commenced at the beginning of July. The field element, laboratory testing, and analysis have recently been finalised and the outcomes of the survey and other work are currently being assessed.

In addition, a review of policy in relation to the disease is being carried out by my Department in co-operation with colleagues in DARD in Northern Ireland following the outcome of the summer surveys.

Preliminary results show that due to the high number of findings of ash dieback, especially in native hedgerows, Ireland would not be in a position to apply to the EU for Protected Zone status for the disease. The possibility of removing the embargo on ash sales under a plant passport system for nurseries, for plants which have been free of the disease for at least two years, is being considered.