Insects brought from China in wooden packing crates are a major threat to forestry here, the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources has warned.
Importers have been urged to be extra-vigilant when dealing with conifer packing-wood, which EU law requires to be stripped of bark, free of insect holes greater than 3 mm across and dried to less than 20 per cent moisture content.
Pests which could be carried to Ireland include the non-European bark beetle and a conifer long-horn beetle, which is in turn a carrier for microscopic eelworm capable of causing wilt disease.
The Minister of State at the Department, Mr Hugh Byrne, said live insects had already been detected in packaging.