THERE HAVE BEEN 46 cases of the ash tree disease – widely known as ash dieback – confirmed in Ireland.

In an update this morning, the Department of Agriculture said Chalara fraxinea has been found in 26 forestry plantations and 14 horticultural nurseries across the country.

Three samples from roadside landscaping have also tested positive, as well as one from a garden centre, one from a private garden and one from a farm.

There are still more samples being tested at the laboratory and results are awaited.

Meanwhile, Minister Simon Coveney said he was “pleased with the progress” being made on the Chalara Control Strategy.

“My department has extended the scope of this survey work to cover ash plantations planted since 1992 … I am conscious that this situation has presented difficulties for those that have had to remove and destroy as plants but I believe that taking decisive action now on imported ash product is the correct approach to prevent the establishment of the disease in Ireland.”

Last year, legislation to restrict the importation of ash into Ireland was introduced to help stem the spread of the disease. Dieback can affect ash trees of any age and in any setting.

The GAA are said to be monitoring the situation closely as more than 70 per cent of the 350,000 hurleys used every year in Ireland are made from imported ash.

Further restrictions on ash imports imposed as disease continues to spread