The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has called for strict control measure at Irish ports on imported second-hand or used forest machinery.

Padraig Stapleton, the association's farm forestry chairperson, called on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to ensure that all such machinery entering Ireland goes through these measures.

He said this was particularly important in light of Storm Éowyn and the many thousands of hectares of downed forest around the country.

Stapleton said: "The work to salvage the near 24,000ha of windblown timber is underway.

"However, the importation of second-hand or used forestry machinery into the country to help with the operation could pose a biosecurity risk if machinery isn't adequately sterilised and fumigated.

"[The department] must ensure the strictest control measures are imposed at sea ports," he added.

The IFA forestry chairperson called for any machinery entering Ireland without meeting biosecurity requirements to be refused entry.

"Any second-hand machinery coming into the country in breach of their guidelines must be refused entry immediately. Our forest sector is already under severe pressure. Any additional harmful forest pest or pathogen would finish the sector once and for all," Stapleton claimed.

In other forest-related news, the department has issued a ‘Condition Orange’ forest fire warning due to the spell of dry weather.

Due to the current weather patterns, the department said that a high fire-risk is deemed to exist in all areas where “hazardous fuels” such as dead grasses and shrub fuels, like gorse and heather, are present.

The warning is currently set to remain in place until 12:00p.m on Monday, April 7.

The department said that the current easterly high-pressure dominated weather continues to bring moderate to fresh south winds across Ireland and this is forecast to continue over coming days.

“Strongly elevated fire risks are expected in areas with fire-prone upland vegetation types,” it said.