Ireland Will No Longer Accept Scottish Logs Due to Larch Bark Beetle Concerns

On Tuesday, Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine announced that it has updated its policy on the acceptance of Scottish logs due to the potential presence of larch bark beetles.

Following the finding of larch bark beetles (Ips cembrae) by department forestry inspectors in one of its pheromone traps in Passage West Port in Cork in August 2024, the export of coniferous logs from the Pest Free Area (PFA) of Scotland into Ireland was paused on a precautionary basis, pending a full investigation by the Scottish authorities. Over this time, the department continued to engage closely with Scottish and Northern Ireland counterparts.

The PFA of Scotland is an area which has been recognized since 2005 as free from a number of bark beetle pests, which are also absent from the island of Ireland. This recognition of pest freedom has allowed coniferous roundwood to be exported from the PFA to the island of Ireland, with a phytosanitary certificate confirming the timber originates from this area.

Scottish Forestry informed the department last week that it cannot guarantee that the Scottish PFA is free from larch bark beetles and, as such, can no longer meet EU phytosanitary import requirements. Under the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) standards, it is a matter for National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) to determine the status of any pest on their territories, and to communicate that position to trading partners. This communication from the Scottish authorities effectively brings to an end the trade in coniferous roundwood with Ireland.

Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Martin Heydon, said:

“My department has a clear Plant Health and Biosecurity Strategy in support of our agriculture, horticulture, and forestry sectors. Ireland is free of many of the bark beetle forest pests that are found in Europe and in Great Britain. It is very important for the future of forestry to maintain this pest freedom status given the economic, environmental, and social importance of the sector to Ireland.”

Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety, and Horticulture, Michael Healy-Rae, added:

“The cessation of trade in conifers arising from the changed status of Ips cembrae in the PFA will address the risk of introducing a harmful and damaging forest pest into Ireland. My officials will continue to survey extensively for Protected Zone bark beetle species and a range of other potentially harmful forest pests throughout the country in 2025.”

The Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine has kept stakeholders informed of developments on the PFA through its Forest Health Stakeholder Group, which met three times in 2024 and was set up under its Plant Health and Biosecurity Strategy.