About Plant Health

The International Standards on plant health to facilitate trade in plants and plant products are based on the provisions laid down in the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation’s (FAO) International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures. Each of the 181 Member Countries of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) have a National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) to implement the standards agreed. The Department fulfils the role of Ireland’s NPPO, implementing the annual plant health programme under EU and national legislation with the aim of protecting the health of plants in Ireland.

At the EU level, the Department represents Ireland’s interests and provides input into the development of phytosanitary legislation. Ireland is also a member of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO), which is a Regional Plant Protection Organization under the IPPC that promotes the exchange of information between its member countries.

Two key pieces of legislation in relation to plant health are the EU Plant Health Regulation (Regulation(EU)2016/2031) and the Official Controls Regulation (Regulation(EU)2017/625). See our separate webpage about plant health legislation here.

The Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine are promoting a “Don’t Risk it!” awareness raising campaign targeted at travellers, tourists and commercial businesses who are bringing plants, plant products and other high risk items made of plant material into Ireland from abroad.

Our objective is to highlight the social, environmental and economic impact of bringing in infected plant material or quarantine pests and diseases into Ireland. These impacts can be enormous. For example the olive industry, valued at 10’s of millions of Euro, in particular in Italy has been devastated by Xylella fastidiosa, a disease of South American origin, thought to have been brought into Europe on coffee plants from South America. The risk pathways for entry into Ireland for these quarantine pests and diseases include commercial and private travellers.

The Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine carries out physical checks on all regulated and high-risk consignments of commercial products from outside the EU, however it is not physically possible for the Department to check every piece of hand luggage that comes through the airports and ports. Therefore, by educating the public of the risks by targeting the commercial importer to the amateur gardener to the window box herb grower, we will generate awareness of the serious issues and hopefully reduce the number of unchecked plants and plant products stowed away in people’s luggage.

Trader Notices to Professional Operators

Trader Notices are periodically issued to registered Professional Operators by the Department - all trader notices are available here.

Horticulture Link Newsletters

A Horticulture and Plant Health Newsletter is periodically issued to stakeholders; previous editions are available here.

Information on various aspects of plant health and stakeholder responsibilities are addressed on our webpages. If you any questions in relation to plant health, please contact the Horticulture and Plant Health Division or your Regional Plant Health Inspector.

Regional Plant Health Inspectors Contact Details

Plant Health Inspectors are based in each region in Ireland. You can contact your local inspector who will be able to assist you with queries.