Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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109. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how many staff are employed at Irish ports to examine imported timber for bark beetles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52593/23]

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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110. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what percentage of timber being imported into Ireland is being examined for bark beetles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52594/23]

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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111. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the tonnage of timber imported into Ireland to date in 2023, by month, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52595/23]

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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112. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if timber being imported into Northern Ireland is being checked for bark beetle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52596/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 109, 110, 111 and 112 together.

Coniferous roundwood is both imported into and exported out of Ireland. All imports into Ireland must be compliant with the EU Plant Health Regulation and importers must be registered as Professional Operators. Similarly, any action Ireland takes in response to threats from pests must also be compliant with EU Plant Health Regulations and the International Plant Protection Convention.

Importers in Ireland are prohibited from importing roundwood from areas known to be affected by quarantine bark beetle species. The only area internationally where imports into Ireland of coniferous roundwood with bark is permitted is from a specific UK Government authority assigned ‘Pest Free Area’ (PFA) in the West of Scotland. In light of recent developments with bark beetles in Great Britain, found outside of their ‘Pest Free Area’, this Department has been engaging directly with Scottish forestry authorities, Northern Ireland and the European Commission to ensure that the pest free status of the island of Ireland is maintained.

My Department maintains very close contact on plant health matters with its counterpart Department in Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (DAERA), in the context of the consideration of the island of Ireland as a single epidemiological unit. Through this engagement I understand there are currently no roundwood imports into Northern Ireland, exported from the Scottish PFA.

Furthermore, I understand that the Scottish Authorities carry out a range of surveys for bark beetles, including aerial surveillience, pheromone trapping and on the ground surveys. These surveys have been ongoing for several years and no instance of spruce bark beetles of concern to Ireland have been found within the PFA.

In addition, I understand that the felling sites in the PFA, where timber is due to be exported to Ireland, are subject to an inspection regime, as part of their phytosanitary certification system.

Imports of roundwood logs from this PFA in Scotland are subject to an inspection regime by my Department. This involves documentary, identity and plant health physical checks at the port. All imports from the PFA must be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate which is issued by the UK Government authority, in accordance with the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), to attest that the logs meet the phytosanitary import requirements of Ireland and the EU, and are in conformity with the certifying statement.

In addition, and in order to support the proof of origin of the roundwood (i.e. the PFA), Phytosanitary Certificates provide identification of the specific forest location from which the roundwood is sourced. All documents associated with roundwood imports are inspected to verify the phytosanitary import requirements for the Protected Zone of Ireland are satisfied and the roundwood originates from an area within the PFA, and these are recorded and mapped to identify and track roundwood source locations.

My Department regularly engages with stakeholders including on phytosanitary risks. The Department launched a major plant health initiative in its ‘Plant Health and Biosecurity Strategy 2020-2025’ which outlines the importance of plant health biosecurity for Ireland and helps ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the risks to plant health in Ireland, and their role and responsibilities to reduce those risks. In addition there has been significant investment in EU ‘Border Control Posts’ facilities in recent years to allow import control inspections of plants and plant products from non-EU countries.

The table below summarises the total number of shipments and total mass of the imports of roundwood into Ireland from the Pest Free Area of Scotland.

*2023 to end of October