Minister outlines legal moves to halt ‘catastrophic’ spread of ash dieback

Forestry owners are being placed on high alert for signs of Chalara fraxinea, the Ash Dieback disease which has destroyed forests across Europe.

A campaign by the Forest Service, Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine shows images of the signs to look out for. These include shoot dieback, elongated angular stem lesions which are often diamond-shaped, and foliage wilt in which black or brown leaves look dead but remain on the tree.

Minister of State Shane McEntee has met IFA leaders to brief them on the legal measures he has introduced, in cooperation with authorities in the North, to prevent the spread of Ash Dieback disease.