To celebrate International Day of Plant Health 2024, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are hosting a conference to raise awareness on how each one of us can play our part in protecting plant health.

The United Nations designated May 12th as International Day of Plant Health to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect biodiversity and the environment and boost economic development.

Addressing the event, Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity with special responsibility for Horticulture at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said:

"International trade is a daily reality and indeed a key part of our economy and society in today's world. Plant pests know no borders, and trade can facilitate the introduction and spread of plant pests, threatening food security, biodiversity and the wider environment. International Day of Plant Health is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of plant health, and of the actions we can and do take to keep our plants healthy and ensure food security and safe trade for sustainable economies, livelihoods and natural environments."

Contributors to the discussion include Mr Sam Bishop, Head of International Plant and Bee Health policy, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK, Gary Healy, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Coillte, Colette O'Flynn, Invasive Species Officer, National Biodiversity Data Centre and Kieran Dunne, L&K Dunne Nurseries who participated in a panel discussion on current and future perspectives of plant health and biosecurity.

Attendees at the event heard from a range of expert speakers in relation to the Department's approach to plant health and biosecurity including risk anticipation, risk management and surveillance, risk awareness and communication and safe trade. Attendees had the unique opportunity to tour the Border Control Post at Dublin Port to see first-hand the Department's plant health inspection facilities and staff who conduct import controls.

FAO Goodwill Ambassador to Ireland, Diarmuid Gavin provided a closing speech where he said

"80% of our food and 98% of the oxygen we breathe come from plants. Yet, these life-sustaining resources face threats from pests and diseases that are exacerbated by international travel, trade, and climate change. Protecting plant health is essential to enhancing productivity, profitability, sustainability, and resilience of agricultural food systems. We all have a part to play in keeping our plants healthy."

The International Day of Plant Health 2024 calls on everyone to raise awareness and take action to keep our plants healthy and help protect the environment and biodiversity.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The theme set by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations is "Plant health, safe trade and digital technology".

Diarmuid Gavin was appointed as to the role of FAO Goodwill Ambassador for Ireland in May 2022. As Goodwill Ambassador, Diarmuid helps FAO promote plant health and publicise the importance of promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and combatting climate change through more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable practices that can begin in peoples' gardens or window boxes.