Bio security - Ash warning

It is questionable if even the most severe bio-security measures would have prevented the disease threatening Ireland’s ash trees arriving here from continental Europe.

The disease is a significant threat — 90% of Denmark’s ash trees have been lost to the disease.

However, ash dieback does warn us that we may need to do more to ensure that our flora and fauna, and especially our farming sector, are protected from the threat posed by importing live animals or any living matter. This may be difficult in an increasingly globalised world and in an open EU market but the risks of not at least reviewing how we do this are tremendous.