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Regulation, Forest Health and Resources
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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It is important to be familiar with the various legal and regulatory obligations governing forestry, and you can see your full legal obligations on our website covering forestry and the law in Ireland.
Forest Recreation in Ireland - A Guide for Forest Owners and Managers
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Forestry and Freshwater Pearl Mussel Requirements, (DAFM, 2008)
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Land Types for Afforestation
Land Types for Afforestation
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DRAFT Plan for Forests & Freshwater Pearl Mussel in Ireland
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Wildfires can have catastrophic impacts on upland habitats and rural communities, putting homes, property and lives at risk and diverting emergency services from their main tasks.
Forest Fire Danger Notices are issued during the main wildfire risk season from March to September. These provide forest owners and managers with advance warning of high fire risk weather conditions and permit appropriate readiness measures to take ahead of fire outbreaks.
See more on current alerts and warning system our Fire Management page.
- learn more on how to keep your forest healthy on our website
- International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) sets down standards for treatment and marking of Wood Packaging Material (WPM) which includes pallets, crates and dunnage used in the international trade of goods of all kinds
Learn more on ISPM 15.
- the COFORD Council advises the minister and the department on issues related to the development of the forestry sector in Ireland. Its membership is appointed by the minister and comprises stakeholders from across the forestry sector.
- Competitive Forestry Research for Development Programme
The LULUCF regulation implements the agreement between EU leaders in October 2014 that all sectors should contribute to the EU's 2030 emission reduction target, including the land use sector.
The forestry division is responsible for implementing EU Council Directive 1999/105/EC on the marketing of forest reproductive material.
Forest reproductive material (FRM) describes seeds, plants and cuttings, which are important for forestry purposes.
The aim of the legislation is to ensure that forest reproductive material, which is marketed, is from approved suitable sources and is clearly labelled and identified throughout the entire process from tree seed collection to processing, storage, forest nursery production and delivery to the final forest user.
The forestry division is also the National Designated Authority in Ireland for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Scheme for the Certification of Forest Reproductive Material Moving in International Trade otherwise known as the ‘OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme’.
The international scheme encourages the production and use of forest seeds, parts of plants and plants that have been collected, transported, processed, raised and distributed in a manner that ensures their trueness to name. Material covered by the scheme is intended for use in a variety of forestry purposes.
Post Brexit, the OECD scheme is the certification system required for all imports and exports of forest reproductive material to and from Great Britain.
Forest seed and plants are also be subject to the requirements of the EU Plant Health Regulation 2016/2031 on protective measures against pests of plants.
The following services are available:
- registration of seed stands
- registration of suppliers of forest reproductive material - seed collectors, nurseries, seed and plant importers and brokers
- issuing of Seed Collection Permits and Master Certificates of Provenance for seed collections
- certification of exports of forest seeds and plants to non-EU countries, who are members of the OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme such as UK(GB)
- advice on forest seed and plant regulations
For additional information on Forest Reproductive Material (FRM), see the documents and links below:
Council Directive 1999/105/EC on the marketing of forest reproductive material
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Ireland’s National List of Basic Material 2023 – EU Regulated Species and species registered in Ireland
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FORMATIS - The EU Commission's Forest Reproductive Material Information System (FOREMATIS) provides a search tool for forest breeders, forest nursery workers, experts and the public, functioning as a repository linked with EU countries' data of planted tree species.
OECD Forest Seed and Plant Scheme - The OECD Scheme for the Certification of Forest Reproductive Material Moving in International Trade seeks to encourage the production and use of forest tree seeds or plants that have been collected, processed, raised, labelled and distributed in a manner that ensures their trueness to name.
Learn more on the future of EU rules on plant and forest reproductive material.
Forest Service - Forest Reproductive Material (FRM)
Address:
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Agriculture House (3 West), Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email:
Phone number:
Fax:
01 607 2545
In June 2023 the EU published Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 31 May 2023, on the making available on the European Union Single Market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation, now commonly known as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
The main aims of this regulation are threefold:
• To ensure that the listed products bought, used and consumed by Europeans do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation within the EU and globally.
• To reduce carbon emissions caused by EU consumption and production of the relevant commodities covered by the regulation.
• To address the deforestation and forest degradation that is driven by the agricultural expansion, which produces the commodities covered by the scope of the regulations.
There are seven relevant commodities – cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood and some of their derived products such as leather, chocolate, tyres and printed paper. A full list of the relevant EU customs codes and individual product descriptions can be found in the Annex to the Regulation. The regulation applies to relevant products that are produced domestically in Ireland as well as imports into and exports out of Ireland.
Under Article 14 (1) of the regulation, Member States must designate one or more competent authorities responsible for fulfilling the obligations of the EU Deforestation Regulation.
On 29th December 2023 the European Commission was informed that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be the designated competent authority for the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation in Ireland.
The new regulation, which replaces the EU Timber Regulations (No. 995/2010) will enter into application on 30th December 2024 and will set mandatory obligations for operators and traders to ensure inter alia that:
1. relevant products are deforestation free (produced on land not subject to deforestation after 31st December 2020) and have not contributed to forest degradation,
2. have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production and,
3. are covered by a due diligence statement.
The implications of this timeline are that operators and traders now have a 12-month preparation period in which to ensure they can comply with the requirements of the regulation.
To help supply chain actors with this preparation, the European Commission has published a set of frequently asked questions, which can be accessed here .