No legal basis to ban straw imports, says Agriculture Minister
Imports have come mostly from the UK, but also from Spain and other mainland European countries. File picture
Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon has said there is no legal basis to prohibit the importation of straw. Instead, co-operation across sectors of the agricultural industry could minimise imports, he said.
"I would urge farmers to carefully consider the risks associated with imported straw, recognising the need to protect farms from herbicide-resistant weeds".
Imports have come mostly from the UK, but also from Spain and other mainland European countries.
Even Brexit did not make much difference to imports of straw from the UK. In 2024 and 2025, huge amounts came in, respectively about 58,000t and 45,000t.
Minister Heydon has said he is very aware of the threat posed to tillage farmers by herbicide-resistant grass weeds, such as blackgrass.Â
Blackgrass has been added to Ireland's Noxious Weed list, allowing his department to take action where individual farmers allow blackgrass to proliferate or spread.
But there is no legal basis to prohibit the importation of straw, he said.
"Within the EU, there is free movement of straw, while the import of straw from outside the EU is not subject to phytosanitary checks under EU Plant Health Regulations," said the minister in his reply to a Dáil question from Laois TD William Aird.
