Report a tree pest or disease in Ireland: TreeCheck and the Department of Agriculture
Who the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine says takes a report of a suspected tree pest or disease, the phone lines and the TreeCheck tool it publishes, and what the pages name.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It sets out how the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, called DAFM, describes reporting a suspected tree pest or disease in the Republic of Ireland, with the date each page shows where it shows one. For the wider country-by-country picture see tree pests and diseases.
Who takes the report
The gov.ie service page on reporting a quarantine pest or invasive species was published on July 6, 2020 and last updated on December 21, 2021. It says a report of a suspected outbreak of quarantine pests and diseases goes to the Department, and that this can be done on a mobile phone through the TreeCheck app or by contacting the relevant division directly. It defines quarantine pests as harmful organisms that are either not present in the EU or not widely distributed and under official control.
| Route | Contact as the agency publishes it | Source |
|---|---|---|
| TreeCheck, any tree species | Opened in a phone browser at treecheck.net. | gov.ie service page, December 21, 2021 |
| Horticulture and Plant Health Division, quarantine pests | Telephone +353 (0) 1 505 8885. Address: Backweston Campus, Celbridge, Kildare. | gov.ie service page, December 21, 2021 |
| Forestry Division | Telephone +353 (0) 53 916 3425. Address: Johnstown Castle Estate, Co. Wexford. | gov.ie service page, December 21, 2021 |
| Forest protection, forest pest or disease | Telephone 01-6072651. Address: Kildare Street, Dublin 2. | Teagasc page on reporting a forest pest or disease. No date shown. |
| Alien invasive species | National Biodiversity Data Centre, telephone +353 (0) 1 513 06240, in Co. Waterford. | gov.ie service page, December 21, 2021 |
What the agency asks the reporter to include
Both the gov.ie page and the Teagasc page on reporting a forest pest or disease describe TreeCheck the same way. It takes reports of disease or insect attack on any tree species. The gov.ie page says the app is not in an app store: a reporter browses to the web address on a phone and is offered a link to save to the home screen. On a phone with GPS the app may ask to share location, and the pages say that sharing it gives inspectors accurate geo-location data if they need to look further. The pages do not list other fields or photographs. They say DAFM acknowledges every report received and that the ones of particular concern go on to specialist inspectors.
Pests the agency names
The gov.ie page says the app helps early detection of ash dieback, and also of other possible pest and disease outbreaks. It names no other tree pest and publishes no priority list. For alien invasive species it lists Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed, giant rhubarb, Himalayan balsam, montbretia, old man's beard and Rhododendron ponticum, and sends those reports to the National Biodiversity Data Centre instead of the Department.
Northern Ireland
TreeCheck covers the whole island. The Forest Research ash dieback page tells reporters in Northern Ireland to use TreeCheck, and says the tool asks for photographs. Its ramorum disease page gives the Northern Ireland plant health office as the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, telephone 0300 200 7847, for plants outside woodland or moving in trade. The United Kingdom page sets out the rest of the British routes, and the ash dieback guide gives the rules.
Sources
- Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine via gov.ie, reporting a quarantine pest or invasive species, updated December 21, 2021, read October 8, 2026
- Teagasc, reporting a forest pest or disease, read October 8, 2026
- Forest Research, ash dieback page, read October 8, 2026
- Forest Research, ramorum disease page, read October 8, 2026