Over 25,000t of logs have been imported into Ireland from Scotland so far in 2024, according to figures provided by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue to the Dáil earlier this week.
These imports, primarily spruce logs with bark, are from the Scottish Pest-Free Area (PFA). The area remains free of the Great Spruce Bark beetle, Dendroctonous micans, which is the primary bark beetle of concern to Ireland, the minister said.
This beetle has not been found in Ireland and biosecurity measures are in place for the importation of plants and plant products, including coniferous roundwood originating in the Scottish PFA and wood packaging material, he added.
The PFA status is established and maintained by Scottish authorities according to international standards. As long as the area remains pest free, trade can be permitted under the phytosanitary trade rules of the World Trade Organisation, he said.
“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 PFA in the west of Scotland,” Minister McConalogue said in response to a question by Sinn Féin TD for Tipperary, Martin Browne.
Scottish log imports
The following table sets out by year the tonnage of logs, primarily spruce logs with bark, imported into Ireland from the Scottish PFA from 2020 to April 26, 2024:
Year Number of imports per year Tonnage per year 2020 73 125,850 2021 135 222,387 2022 74 112,750 2023 69 100,025 2024 (to 26-04-24) 19 25,188
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), has 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, the minister added.
Beetle present in Ireland
Separate to the situation with the log imports from Scotland, the DAFM announced the first finding of the Monterey Pine Engraver beetle, Pseudips mexicanus, in the Cratloe area of Co. Clare in December 2023.
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, the minister said.
“It is not a species which occurs in 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 PFA. The distribution of the Monterey Pine Engraver beetle and possible pathway for its introduction are under ongoing investigation,” he added.