S.I. No. 19/1964:

FIRE BLIGHT DISEASE ORDER, 1964.

FIRE BLIGHT DISEASE ORDER, 1964.

I, PATRICK SMITH, Minister for Agriculture, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the Destructive Insects and Pests (Consolidation) Act, 1958 (No. 11 of 1958), for the purposes of preventing the spreading in the State of fire blight disease, hereby order as follows :--

1.--(1) This Order may be cited as the Fire Blight Disease Order, 1964.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the 1st day of March, 1964.

2. In this Order--

" bees " means honey bees, and includes such bees in any stage of their life cycle ;

" fire blight disease " means the disease of fruit trees and other trees caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora ;

" hive " includes any receptacle used or formerly used to house a colony of bees ;

" Inspector " means an officer of the Minister or any person appointed to be an inspector for the purposes of this Order ;

" the Minister " means the Minister for Agriculture ;

" tree " includes bush and cane.

3. The owner or occupier of any land or the servant or the agent of such owner shall, if he finds that any tree present on such land is infected with fire blight disease or suspects that any such tree is so infected, forthwith notify the Minister of the fact.

4. No person shall sell, offer for sale or distribute in any manner, for planting any tree or part of a tree on which fire blight disease exists.

5.--(1) An Inspector may, upon production, if so required, of his appointment or authority, enter upon any land for the purpose of ascertaining whether fire blight disease exists on any tree thereon and if fire blight disease does exist, the extent to which it exists, and may mark any tree infected with fire blight disease and may make all such inquiries and examinations (including the taking of samples) as he deems necessary.

(2) An Inspector may, upon production, if so required, of his appointment or authority, enter upon any premises, vehicle, wagon, conveyance, aircraft or vessel or other craft in, on or in the vicinity of which he has reason to believe that fire blight disease exists or has existed on any tree or part of a tree and he may make all such inquiries and examinations (including the taking of samples) as he deems necessary.

6. An Inspector shall forthwith report and furnish particulars of the finding of fire blight disease on any tree to the Minister.

7.--(1) Whenever, whether through the report of an Inspector or otherwise, it comes to the knowledge of the Minister that fire blight disease exists on any tree, he may serve on the owner or the occupier of the land on which the infected tree is present a notice (in this Order referred to as a fire blight disease prevention notice) requiring the person on whom it is served to do any one or more of the following :--

(a) grub up and destroy by fire on the said land the whole of any tree specified in the notice,

(b) cut off or detach and destroy by fire on the said land a specified part of any tree mentioned in the notice,

(c) treat in such manner as may be specified in the notice the whole or any specified part of any tree mentioned in the notice,

(d) destroy by fire on the said land such fruit taken from trees growing on that land as may be specified in the notice,

(e) abstain from removing or permitting to be removed from the said land any tree, fruit, pollen, budwood, scion or other part of any tree except under and in accordance with a written direction given by the Minister or an Inspector,

(f) abstain from bringing or permitting to be brought on to the said land or removing or permitting to be removed from the said land any hive or bees except under and in accordance with a written direction given by the Minister or an Inspector,

(g) take such other steps for the prevention of the spread of fire blight disease as may be reasonably necessary and are prescribed in the notice.

(2) The Minister may serve more than one fire blight disease prevention notice on the same person.

(3) A fire blight disease prevention notice may at any time be amended, modified or withdrawn by a further notice.

8. If a tree, part of a tree, or fruit of a tree is moved, sold, used or dealt with in contravention of this Order or a notice (including a fire blight disease prevention notice) or direction served hereunder, the Minister or an Inspector may seize the tree, part of a tree or fruit and may dispose of or cause to be disposed of in such manner as the Minister or Inspector may think fit, the tree, part of a tree or fruit, or any package in which such tree, part of a tree or fruit is or has been contained, or may remove or cause to be removed to such place and in such manner as the Minister or the Inspector may think fit, the tree, part of a tree, fruit, or any such package and may serve a notice on the consignee of, or on the person in charge of, or in possession of, the tree, part of a tree, fruit or any such package, directing the person on whom the notice is served to dispose of the tree, part of a tree, fruit or package within such time and in such manner as may be specified in the notice or to remove the tree, part of a tree, fruit or package within such time and to such place as may be specified in the notice.

9. If on the expiration of fourteen days after the service on a person of a notice under this Order such person has failed to comply with the requirements of the notice, an Inspector may enter on the land referred to in the notice and may do all such things as may be necessary to comply with the notice.

10. For the purpose of this Order, a notice or a direction served hereunder shall be deemed to be served on any person if it is delivered to him personally, or left for him at his last known place of abode or business or sent in a prepaid registered letter addressed to him there and a notice purporting to be signed by an Inspector shall be prima facie evidence that it was signed by him as an Inspector.

11. Any person who, whether by act or omission, fails to comply with any provision of this Order or with any notice or with a direction, served hereunder, shall be guilty of an offence under this Order and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding in the case of a first offence, ten pounds or in the case of a second or any subsequent offence, twenty pounds.

12. Notwithstanding anything in this Order, a tree infected with fire blight disease or a part of any such tree or the fruit of any such tree may be dealt with in the manner specified in a licence specially granted for that purpose by the Minister.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 4th day of February, 1964.

PATRICK SMITH.

Minister for Agriculture.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order requires the existence or suspected existence of fire blight disease to be notified to the Minister for Agriculture and gives the Minister certain powers with a view to preventing spread of the disease.