New Plant Health Legislation

1. Latest news and information

2. Summary of the New Plant Health Legislation

3. The New Changes to the Plant Health Legislation

4. New Approach to Pests and Diseases

5. Protected Zones

6. New Terms and Definitions

7. Registering with DAFM

8. Contact / Competent Person

9. Changes to the Plant Passport

10. Guidance on plant regulations

New plant health legislation 2016/2031/EU comes into effect on the 14th December 2019. This will mean there will be a range of changes for both the industry and the Department in how their respective day-to-day activities are carried out. Here you will find out what the key changes are and how it affects your business.

Latest news and information

Teagasc video guide to changes in plant passports with DAFM.

Nursery Stock Conference

The DAFM made a presentation on New Plant Health Regulations at Teagasc Nursery Stock Conference on 23rd October 2019. View the Plant Health Regulation Presenation.

Summary of the New Plant Health Legislation

A new EU Plant Health Regulation (Regulation(EU)2016/2031) will come into operation on 14th of December 2019. The objectives of the new Regulation are:

Better protection of EU Plant Health
More focus on proactive action
Compliance with international plant health standards (International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)

The new Regulation focuses on reducing the risk of introducing quarantine pests to the EU as follows:

focusing attention on high risk plants,
developing a list of EU priority pests,
expanding the range of plant operators to be registered with the competent authority,
applying stricter Protected Zone requirements, and
requiring all plants for planting to be accompanied with a Plant Passport.

Under the New Regulation plant health will, for the first time, be subject to the Officail Controls Regualation (Regulation(EU)2017/625) . This introduces the possibility for co-funding of the annual surveys for priority pests and also the possibility to contribute to the destruction costs for eradication control measures of a Quarantine Pest.

The New Changes to the Plant Health Legislation

The main changes to the existing Plant Health Directive (Council Directive 2000/29/EC) are:

All plants for planting require a Plant Passport when moved between professional operator to professional operator.
Professional operators must maintain records for plants supplied by them to other professional operators and for plants supplied by other professional operators to them for at least 3 years.
Professional operators should also have in place systems and procedures to allow identification of the movements of plants, plant products and other objects within and between their own premises.
All professional operators must register with the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) of the country. For Ireland the NPPO is the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Each professional operator must provide a contact/competent person to be available to liaise with the NPPO.

New Approach to Pests and Diseases

Union Quarantine Pests

Union Quarantine pests are pests that are not present in the EU, or, if they are present, they are not widely distributed and are under official control. These are pests that could establish on the Union territory and could cause significant damage to plants and plant products. Their establishment in the EU would have unacceptable economic, environmental and social impacts. A list of Quarantine Pests and their respective codes is provided.

Priority Pests

Priority pests are an extract from the Union list of Quarantine Pests. These pests potentially would have the most severe economic, environmental or social impact if they were to establish in the Union. The list of list of priority pests is provided.

EU Priority Pests - Pest Information

Union Regulated Non-Quarantine Pests (RNQP)

Union Regulated non-quarantine pests are pests that are present in the EU. The damage these pests cause has a high economic impact on plant reproductive material/plants for planting. They are generally prohibited in plant reproductive material, however, in certain instances a certain tolerance is allowed. The list of regulated non-quarntine pests (RNQP) is provided.

Protected Zones

A protected zone is a zone in the Community in which one or more quarantine organisms are present in the Union territory but are absent from specific parts of the territory despite favourable conditions for them to establish themselves there. Their presence would have an unaccepted economic, social or environmental impact. The list of Protected Zone Pests and EPPO codes for issuing on plant passports can be found on the following links

New Terms and Definitions

Professional Operators

All professional operators are required to register with DAFM. Therefore, if you are involved professionally in one or more of the following activities concerning plants, plant products and other objects you need to register with DAFM:

Planting
Breeding
Production, including growing, multiplying and maintaining
Introduction into, and movement within and out of the EU territory
Making available on the market
Storage, procession, dispatching and processing.

Authorised operator

An authorised operator means a registered operator authorised by DAFM to issue plant passports.

Final or end user

The final or end user is anyone who acquires plants or plant products for their own personal use.

Plants

‘Plants’ means living plants and the following parts of plants:

Seeds, in the botanical sense, other than those not intended for planting;
Fruits, in the botanical sense;
Vegetables
Tubers, corms, rhizomes, roots, rootstocks, stolons;
Shoots, stems, runners;
Cut flowers;
Branches with or without foliage;
Cut trees retaining foliage;
Leaves, foliage;
Plant tissue cultures, including cell cultures, germplasm, meristems, chimaeric clones, micro-propagated material;
Live pollen and spores;
Buds, budwood, cuttings, scions, grafts.

Plant Products

‘Plant products’ means unmanufactured material of plant origin and those manufactured products, which may create a risk for the spread of quarantine pests, e.g. coniferous wood.

Other Objects

‘Other objects’ means any material or object, other than plants or plant products, capable of harbouring or spreading pests (this includes soil or growing medium), e.g. Wood Packaging Material. Registration

Registering with DAFM

In general, if you are involved in any of the following activities you need to register with DAFM:

Nurseries
Garden Centres
Importers of plants and plant products
Exporters of plants and plant products
Multiple Store that trades in plants
Landscaper/Landscape Architect
County Council/Local Authority
Internet traders of plant and plant products
Christmas tree growers
Retailer / Co-op involved in the sale of plants without distribution centre
Retailer / Co-op involved in the sale of plants with distribution centre(s)
Cut foliage producer/grower
Turf grass producer/grower
Fruit producer/grower
Vegetable producer/grower
Seed producers including seed potatoes

Contact / Competent Person

From 14 December 2020, each professional operator issuing plant passports must have a contact person nominated (competent person), what is the role of the contact person?

From 14 December 2020, professional operators shall fulfil the following criteria in order to be eligible for authorisation in relation to the issuance of plant passports:

they have demonstrated to DAFM the necessary knowledge of the applicable rules relevant to the examinations carried out concerning the Union quarantine pests, protected zone quarantine pests and Union regulated non-quarantine pests (RNQP) that could affect the plants, plant products and other objects concerned;
they have demonstrated to DAFM the necessary knowledge of the best practices, measures and other actions required to prevent the presence and spread of the pests referred to in point (a);
they have an effective plan to be followed in case of any suspected occurrence or findings of the pests referred to in point (a);
they have demonstrated to DAFM the necessary knowledge and competence, for the performance of the required examinations of the plant, plant product or other object for the relevant pests and to take the measures referred to in point (b);
they have demonstrated to DAFM that they possess or have access to the necessary equipment and facilities for the performance of the required examinations of the plant, plant product or other object, and they also possess the capacity to take the measures referred to in point (b);
they have appointed a contact person responsible for the communication with DAFM with respect to the above and have communicated to the competent authority the contact details thereof.

Changes to the Plant Passport

Changes to the Plant passport system are being introduced:

From 14th December 2019 all plants for planting require a Plant Passport when moved between professional operator to professional operator;
Plant passports are not required for plants, plant products and other objects supplied directly to final users. However, under the new Plant Health Regulation, Protected Zones host plants for planting must have a plant passport to the end user. They EU Commission may bring in some exemptions for this.
All distant sales operators must be registered with DAFM;
From 14th December 2019 plant passports will have a common format throughout the EU.

Format of the Plant Passport

Plant passports must be visible, legible and be clearly distinguishable from any other information or label.

Due to the differences in size and characteristics of the plant material for which a plant passport is required, a certain degree of flexibility is ensured as regards the format style and size of the plant passport. There are various plant passport types available, which allow for these differences. These types do not specifically require a particular size for the plant passports or specify the use of a border line, the proportion, and the fonts used.

The elements of the plant passport should be arranged within a rectangular or square shape, and should be clearly separated from any other written or pictorial matter by a border line or otherwise. It is important to enhance the visibility of plant passports and their distinctiveness from any other information or label.

Plant passports issued on or after the 14th December must comply with the new format. Any plant passports issued before 14 December 2019 should remain valid until 14 December 2023.

Types of plant passports

The plant passport for movement within the Union territory shall contain the following elements:

the words ‘Plant Passport’ in its upper right-hand corner;
the flag of the Union in its upper left-hand corner, printed in colour or in black and white;
the letter ‘A.’, followed by the botanical name of the plant(s) species or taxon concerned, in the case of plants and plant products, or, where appropriate, the name of the object concerned, and, optionally, the name of the variety;
the letter ‘B.’, followed by subsequently the two-letter code for the Member State (IE for Ireland), in which the professional operator issuing the plant passport is registered, a hyphen and the registration number of the professional operator. For example, a professional operator registered in Ireland would record their registration number as: B IE - 1234
the letter ‘C.’, followed by the traceability code of the plant, plant product or the other object concerned;
the letter ‘D.’, where applicable followed by: the name of the third country of origin, or of the Member State of origin.

The traceability code referred to in point (1)(e) may also be supplemented by a reference to a unique traceability barcode, hologram, chip or other data carrier, present on the trade unit.

Examples of plant passports for non-protected zones

Plant passports for movement into and within protected zones

The plant passport for movement into and within protected zones shall contain the following elements:

the words ‘Plant Passport — PZ’ in its upper right-hand corner, in one of the official languages of the Union and in English, if different, separated by a slash;
immediately underneath those words, the scientific name(s) or the code(s) of the respective protected zone quarantine pest(s);
the flag of the Union in its upper left-hand corner, printed in colour or in black and white;
the letter ‘A.’, followed by the botanical name of the plant species or taxon concerned, in the case of plants and plant products, or, where appropriate, the name of the object concerned and, optionally, the name of the variety;
the letter ‘B.’, followed by subsequently the two-letter code for the Member State (IE for Ireland), in which the professional operator issuing the plant passport is registered, a hyphen and the registration number of the professional operator. For example, a professional operator registered in Ireland would record their registration number as: B IE - 1234
the letter ‘C.’, followed by the traceability code of the plant, plant product or the other object concerned;
the letter ‘D.’, where applicable followed by:
the name of the third country of origin, or
two letter code of the Member State of origin and, in the case of replacement of the plant passport, the registration number of the professional operator concerned who issued the initial plant passport or for whom the initial plant passport was issued by the competent authority.

The traceability code referred to in point (1)(f) may also be supplemented by a reference to a unique traceability barcode, hologram, chip or other data carrier, present on the trade unit.

Examples of Plant Passports for Protected Zones.

For further information on Plant Passports please consult Regulation (EU) 2017/2313.

DAFM Contact Details

The contact details for DAFM are:

Horticulture and Plant Health Division

Address:

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, 2nd Floor, Backweston Campus, Administration Building, Celbridge , Kildare , W23 X3PH

Email:

plantandpests@agriculture.gov.ie

Phone number:

+353 (0) 1 505 8885

Summary:

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Regional Inspector Contact Details

AAI	Counties	Phone Numbers	E-mail
Donal Bourke	Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Longford, Clare	091 – 507 656, 086 – 814 4087	Donal.Bourke@agriculture.gov.ie
Con Collis	Dublin	01 – 505 8752, 087 – 676 3891	ConA.Collis@agriculture.gov.ie
Michael Cullen	Wexford, Carlow	053 – 916 5524, 086 -605 4946	Michael.Cullen@agriculture.gov.ie
Padraig Flynn	Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan	049 – 436 8226, 086 – 850 4324	Padraig.Flynn@agriculture.gov.ie
Dermot Grogan	Cork, Kerry, Limerick	021 – 481 9900, 086 – 606 4147	Dermot.Grogan@agriculture.gov.ie
Declan Kealy	Kildare, Wicklow	01 – 505 8698, 087 – 337 9818	Declan.Kealy@agriculture.gov.ie
Kieran Kelly	Laois, Westmeath, Offaly, North Tipperary	057 – 937 0334, 086 – 858 0439	KieranP.Kelly@agriculture.gov.ie
Shane Kirk	Meath, Louth	01 – 505 8705, 086 – 779 3448	Shane.Kirk@agriculture.gov.ie
Pat Morrisson	Kilkenny, Waterford, South Tipperary	056- 7753478, 086 – 605 4922	Pat.Morrisson@agriculture.gov.ie

Guidance on plant regulations

The Department has provided further detailed guidance on plant regulations.