Plans to deal with pests and bacterial diseases which could pose a threat to the Irish environment have been prepared as part of the Department of Agriculture’s new Plant Health and Biosecurity Strategy.
The 43-page document highlights threats from pests not yet detected in Ireland but present in other countries, including EU member states.
The strategy runs from 2026-2030 and aims to protect Ireland’s agriculture, horticulture and forestry sectors, as well as the wider environment, from plant pests and diseases.
These include the bacterial disease Xylella fastidiosa, which is described as “one of the most devastating diseases in Europe”. It causes severe damage to more than 500 plant species, including oak, cherry and ash, and is carried by sap-feeding insects. First detected in Italy’s Puglia region in 2013, it is now also present in France, Spain and Portugal.
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The strategy warns that if the disease spread across the entire EU, it could “cause an annual production loss of €5.5 billion and put nearly 300,000 jobs at risk”.
Over the past five years, however, the Department of Agriculture has taken 1,099 samples to test for the disease with no detection of the insects.
The document also includes a plant-pest contingency plan for the Asian long-horned beetle, “a highly destructive pest which poses a threat to a wide range of broadleaved trees”.
It is native to China and neighbouring countries but has invaded Europe in recent years. A single beetle can fly up to 2km and can lay hundreds of eggs.
In 2012, an outbreak in the UK required over 2,000 trees to be felled as part of the government response. Eradication was deemed successful.
The contingency preparations mean if any of the pests or diseases “were found in Ireland, the department has a plan to urgently respond with a view to eradicating and/or controlling them”.
Launching the strategy at the Backweston laboratories in Co Kildare, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said “Ireland’s key natural advantages, geographical isolation and temperate climate” help prevent pest and disease incursions and outbreaks.
But he said “risks to plant health are increasing due to increased globalisation, e-commerce and climate change. In line with EU legislation, the Department implements measures, to mitigate against these risks.”
Last year, in a near-miss for Ireland, the potato tuber moth was detected in a consignment of potatoes imported from Egypt. “The consequences of an established population of these moths in Ireland would significantly affect Ireland’s €80-€100 million potato industry,” Heydon said. The shipment of potatoes was rejected.
The economic value of plants and trees across the agriculture, horticulture and forestry sectors in Ireland is estimated at €4.9 billion, based on output values from Central Statistics Office figures in 2024. This includes an estimated production value for grassland.
