The Irish Forest Owners group has warned that the arrival of the bark beetle would be a “national disaster” which would “make the ash dieback emergency look simple”.

Calling for awareness, the forest owners group explained that the “destructive” eight-toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips Typographus) has caused widespread damage to forests across Europe.

While noting that the insect has so far not been found on the island of Ireland, the group warned against the introduction of the pest through the importation of timber with bark on it.

“As things stand, we import substantial quantities of logs with bark on for processing by Irish sawmills.

“Much of this timber comes from Scotland. Recently, the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle was discovered in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, and consequently there is an increased risk associated with the importation of those logs,” a spokesperson said.

Risk

The group highlighted the continued risks involved in the importation of logs that have not been debarked into Ireland.

The group called on Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to “take urgent action to deal with this increasing risk to protect the future of the forest industry in Ireland”.

“Specifically, we suggest he liaise with his counterpart in Northern Ireland to adopt an all-island approach to defend our protected zone status against this and other bark beetle pests.

A ban on the importation of timber that is not bark-free must be issued

“Unless the Department can absolutely guarantee that the inspections at ports throughout the island of Ireland are sufficient to prevent the importation of the bark beetle, a ban on the importation of timber that is not bark-free must be issued,” the spokesperson added.

The forestry group called on all foresters, forest owners and other stakeholders to be vigilant for unusual ill health in trees or evidence of bark beetle activity.

It suggested that all suspicions and concerns are reported to forestprotection@agriculture.gov.ie or by using the Tree Check App, which is available here.

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