Four cases of Chalara ash dieback disease have now been identified in the State, following yesterday’s confirmation of cases in Meath, Monaghan and Galway.
The first case of the disease was reported in an ash plantation in Co Leitrim last month.
The young trees were part of a consignment of 33,000 plants imported from the Netherlands about three years ago. The trees were planted in 11 sites across the State, including the four sites where the disease has been found.
Minister of State for Forestry Shane McEntee said no trace of the disease had been found in the remaining seven sites. However, plants on all 11 sites were destroyed as a safety measure and a further 20,000 plants adjacent to those plants were also destroyed. The sites are privately owned and the company that supplied the trees has offered to replace them free of charge.
Yesterday, Mr McEntee signed new legislation, in conjunction with Northern Ireland, which bans the importation of ash timber unless certain conditions are met. They include the removal of the bark and the provision of a certificate of clearance showing the wood came from an area free from disease. This follows a ban on importing ash plants and seeds.
“We have gone further than any other country ... and we will be looking at further measures on a daily basis,” he said.
Asked if he believed the disease could be contained, Mr McEntee said “the measures today have to be enforced. That is the number one priority.”
The new measures will restrict shops and petrol forecourts from selling imported ash firewood. “Any person who is buying firewood, let it be off the back of a lorry, or out of a supermarket ... should ask – if it’s ash – where did it come from and have you a certificate?” Mr McEntee said.
He also asked the public to be vigilant and report any suspicions about the disease to the forest owner, farmer or his department.
Native Woodland Trust director Jim Lawlor said the scenario for Irish ash trees was “pretty bleak” when one looked at how rapidly the disease had spread in the UK.
“It’s terribly worrying and we’re looking at the virtual extinction of one of our most symbolic trees. A lot of the holy trees of Ireland were ash.”
Mr Lawlor said it would take about 10 years for the impact of the disease to be felt because it spread naturally by about 30km a year and older trees take several years to die.
He said the death of ash trees would also affect wildlife and forest flora. Ash seeds were an important source of calories for birds, while the trees were a habitat for squirrels and other small animals and insects.
Some 70 per cent of ash used by Irish hurley makers is imported. The Irish Guild of Ash Hurley Makers said the new restrictions on importing ash would not affect its members as most of them imported planks of ash wood.
The guild’s president, Willie McAuliffe, said the game of hurling would die first before he and his colleagues stopped making hurleys. “And that will never happen.” He said most makers had enough stock for the coming year as it had to be bought in and dried and seasoned. “I don’t see any big danger right at the moment.”
Chalara ash dieback: Deadly disease
The disease
The fungus Chalara fraxinea can cause the death of trees, with younger trees dying more rapidly. It has caused widespread damage in Europe since it was first reported as an unknown disease in Poland in 1992. About 90 per cent of Denmark’s ash trees are thought to be affected.
The disease causes lesions and cankers on the bark of branches or stems. It can cause leaves and foliage to discolour and wilt. Heavily affected trees have extensive shoot, twig and branch dieback.
Outbreaks
It was first discovered in the UK in February in a consignment of trees imported from the Netherlands. The first Irish case, in Co Leitrim, was reported by the Department of Agriculture on October 12th. More than 3 per cent of the national forest is ash but the Native Woodland Trust estimates ash trees account for about 30 per cent of the tree population. More than 70 per cent of hurleys used in Ireland are made from imported ash.
Report concerns
The Department of Agriculture's website has a factsheet: iti.ms/XgxOcq.
Report concerns to the Forest Service at the Department of Agriculture: tel: 01-6072651;
email : forestprotection@ agriculture.gov.ie
