Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 208 and 209 together.

Imports of untreated coniferous roundwood with bark into Ireland are prohibited from areas known to be affected by quarantine bark beetle species. The only area internationally from which this type of import can be made into Ireland is the ‘Pest Free Area’ (PFA) in the West of Scotland. The pest free status is established and maintained by the authorities in Scotland according to international standards. The area remains free of the Great spruce bark beetle, Dendroctonous micans. For as long as this situation pertains this trade can be permitted under the phytosanitary trade rules of the WTO/SPS.

The following table sets out by year the tonnage of logs, primarily spruce logs with bark, imported into Ireland from the Scottish Pest Free Area (PFA) 2020 to 26th April 2024.

The primary bark beetle of concern to Ireland that is in Scotland and has not been found in the Scottish PFA is the Great spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonous micans). This beetle has not been found in Ireland. Biosecurity measures are in place in Ireland for the importation of plants and plant products including wood (e.g. coniferous roundwood originating in the Scottish PFA) and wood packaging material (WPM) in order to help prevent the entry of harmful pests.

The specifics of the import requirements are set out in the Plant Health Regulation EU 2016/2031 and Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/2072. This legislative framework is established upon scientific knowledge and available information about known pests and their pathway for potential movement from country to country. The system is operated within the WTO-SPS plant health and trade framework to which Ireland is member country. This system is under-pinned by a range of international standards (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures – ISPMs) developed under the UN’s International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).

To further protect our forests, my Department has also negotiated an agreement with the Scottish authorities to increase the area within the Pest Free Zone from which imports to Ireland are no longer taking place.

Separate to the situation with the log imports from Scotland, my Department announced the first finding of the Monterey pine engraver beetle (Pseudips mexicanus) in the Cratloe area of Co. Clare. Scientific research and information supported by DNA analysis indicate this beetle is a species of North and Central America and in this case has specifically identified Mexico as the origin of this bark beetle. It is not a species which occurs in the Scotland. Spruce, the predominant species traded between Scotland and Ireland, is not known to be a host of this beetle. The finding of The Monterey pine engraver beetle is not connected with the trade in logs from the Scottish Pest Free Area (PFA). The distribution of the Monterey pine engraver beetle and possible pathway for its introduction are under ongoing investigation.