Forests threatened by bark beetle - Kilkenny Farming

There have been calls to suspend timber log imports in light of concerns about the threat posed by the great spruce bark beetle to Irish forests.

“The great spruce bark beetle is spreading through Great Britain at the moment and doing enormous damage to forestry there. It poses a huge threat here in Ireland to our forests, and it is not something we should take lightly,” said Deputy Jackie Cahill who  is chair of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee.

“All possible precautions must be taken in order to avoid further damage to our forestry here in Ireland. Bark beetle has the potential to do catastrophic damage to the forestry industry here.

The IFA Farm Forestry Chair Jason Fleming also called for an import suspension because of the non-native bark beetle.

“Biosecurity measures must be of the highest standard at our ports. If we do not have the appropriate safety mechanisms in place to protect our forests from the bark beetle, then a ban on timber imports from the affected regions is the only option in my view,” said Deputy Cahill.

Mr Fleming said: “Farmers have seen the devastation caused by bark beetles elsewhere in Europe, specifically the spruce bark beetle, and are extremely worried that not enough is being done by the Department to protect their forests, particularly when you consider the financial devastation that could be inflicted.”

Mr Fleming said IFA wrote to Minister Hackett weeks ago calling for the immediate establishment of a bark beetle taskforce to review the biosecurity measures. The lack of a response from the Minister shows that she has not taken on board the mistakes made in relation to ash dieback, and the need for effective and immediate action when it comes to forest pests he added.