Anyone up to date re entering Ireland with plants?

Fogmatic

I've been having trouble finding out for sure whether we’re still allowed to bring a plant(s) from the UK (or EC generally) into the ROI by car. Fairly extensive Googling found opinions varying between ‘No problem’ to ‘Absolutely not’ (via ‘They probably won’t notice’, which for me is beside the point).
I’m in rural W Donegal, with no relevant offices I can visit (as far as I know).

I found official confirmation somewhere that free movement of the majority of plants is allowed between EC countries, but that’s only by default. We’re warned there that each country can have its own prohibitions, and we should always check with the destination country’s authorities before travelling with plants. Which is what I’ve been trying to do, but without much luck.

I’ve brought plants back from the UK in the past with no objections from Customs (garden-centre potted plants, cuttings, surplus plants dug up from relatives’ gardens). But it’s years since I last did it, and maybe things have changed since then. I can’t make head or tail of whether it’s still OK by reading the official Irish info I’ve found so far (and the style of language it uses doesn’t help).

All I know for sure is which plants are on the list of those prohibited/restricted re invasiveness/pests & diseases. I’ve read the official info on the Plant Passport system, but it seems to be about importing plants from outside Europe, and aimed at commercial growers, research people etc, and I couldn’t find the answer there. I’m almost sure we can’t bring in any plants by air (but then that would be more of a security/pest & disease headache than locking plants in a car on the ferry). And I read somewhere that all plants must be declared at customs, but couldn’t find anything about whether we need to remove any garden soil (I have a faint memory of maybe being instructed to when moving here from the UK 25 years ago).

So far I’ve tried;

Prohibited lists on Irish Sea ferry websites (only immediate safety threats listed).

Revenue & Customs website (found nothing relevant, asked their Helpdesk, and they referred me to the Department of Agriculture).

Dept. of Agriculture (couldn’t find the answer on the website, tried a relevant-sounding email contact there, followed by another, with no reply or acknowledgement).

Customs people at Dublin Port. Emailed my query to one of them, they asked me to clarify something, I heard nothing further. Tried another person; the only reply was a link to the same Plant Passports info that I’d told them hadn’t helped. Replied asking if the ROI regulations differ from the general EC ones, heard nothing. (They also have phone numbers, but phone calls can be tricky from our place, let alone being rung back by people on unpredictable shift times).

Any idea where I go from here? Or recent experiences around bringing plants back here?

spurious

My mother brings cuttings of geraniums she snags in Spain most years. She wraps them in wet cotton wool and a plastic bag and puts them in her checked bag. She has never had an issue, but maybe you mean something more substantial with soil in it?

Fogmatic

Thanks for the tip re cuttings, Spurious.
It's plants in pots I most want to know about though.  They're my most likely acquisions, and what sparked all this off is a house plant I really want, that I can only find in the UK.  I'm hoping to order it online from here before they sell out, and they can deliver it to my daughter in London, ready for my next trip there.
The supplier's very reputable but wouldn't know about Irish regulations, as the reason they decided some time ago not to ship here was the high courier charges.

spurious

Any way you could get it to the North?

Fogmatic

spurious wrote: »

Any way you could get it to the North?

Thanks - good thinking, but probably not.  No search results for the plant in all Ireland, and the supplier I found only delivers to mainland UK.  No bricks-and-mortar shops; they’re basically a service for offices etc, but will also sell online to individuals.  (Daughter runs a shop in London, so always someone to sign for stuff in working hours).

Carawaystick

I know a guy that got Hop rhizomes from Canada through the official channels, paperwprk to export from Canada and dept of ag here, so it's not impossible.

I'd imaging its an Island of Ireland rules ( until March anyway) so you'ld have british, not uk issues from accross the irish sea.

coylemj

Carawaystick wrote: »

I'd imaging its an Island of Ireland rules ( until March anyway) so you'ld have british, not uk issues from accross the irish sea.

I doubt if Brexit will change any existing rules. There are agricultural checkpoints when crossing certain state lines in the US because even within that one country, there are regulations about what plants, fruits and even bees that you're permitted to bring from one state to another. GB or the UK being in or out of the EU is hardly going to make a difference.

Fogmatic

Carawaystick wrote: »

I know a guy that got Hop rhizomes from Canada through the official channels, paperwprk to export from Canada and dept of ag here, so it's not impossible.

I'd imaging its an Island of Ireland rules ( until March anyway) so you'ld have british, not uk issues from accross the irish sea.

Yes, hops are on the Plant Passport list.  (I imagine because of some pest/disease risk.  I tried a hop plant once in our garden here, for the foliage, but grew that one from seed.

Island of Ireland rules do make sense!

coylemj wrote: »

Carawaystick wrote: »

I'd imaging its an Island of Ireland rules ( until March anyway) so you'ld have british, not uk issues from accross the irish sea.

I doubt if Brexit will change any existing rules. There are agricultural checkpoints when crossing certain state lines in the US because even within that one country, there are regulations about what plants, fruits and even bees that you're permitted to bring from one state to another. GB or the UK being in or out of the EU is hardly going to make a difference.

I doubt if Brexit comes into it too.  If only I knew what those existing rules were!

Fogmatic

A couple of days ago I decided to give up and just buy my plant, declare it at customs and hope for the best.  Should’ve tried that earlier, as a reply finally arrived the same day!

It was from the dfa (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) (don’t know why - the query got forwarded I guess).

It gave a link to info on plant passports, giving the same plant lists I’d seen before, but this time in a website section on moving residence between countries (think I saw a link for it once which I didn’t follow, as it wasn’t what I was doing).  It leaves out the long, legalese-type section for commercial growers/importers (which seemed to be about commercial movement from outside the EU), and a plain English bit at the end says (if not quite in so many words) that we are allowed to bring plants back into Ireland.
https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmingsectors/planthealthtrade/transferringofplantstoirelandfromtheeu/

The message added that surrounding soil/compost is no problem, as long as we’re not knowingly moving quarantine pests in it.

I’ve also gathered from various places that it’s a good idea to leave all plant label(s) on (including any stickers on the pot) until they’re through Customs.  If a plant sold to the public has needed a plant passport somewhere along the line, the passport number should be on it somewhere (and maybe other other info about its origin)..

I discovered a useful tip along the way re plant labels (though everyone else probably discovered it years ago!), re QR codes that have appeared on them, giving more info to browsing customers.  I looked at a couple of labels I still had (one of which just says ‘Perennial’, with a photo of a mixed border), and they had the codes, which I hadn’t noticed before, with ‘Scan me’ and ‘FloralinQ’ by them. They went to a database page giving the exact plant name (handy if the label just has, say ‘African Daisy’ and a blurry, Photoshopped photo).  Maybe it also helps the Customs people.

I’ve now asked about any size/quantity limits re plants for our own use (and will report back).

uck51js9zml2yt

I got some plant plugs delivered to parcel motel and delivered south without issue

Fogmatic

Samuel Early Cowhide wrote: »

I got some plant plugs delivered to parcel motel and delivered south without issue

Thanks Samuel Early Cowhide, that's useful to know.

On this occasion, the problem was that the only source I could find delivers only to mainland UK.  I'm in the UK once or twice a year, and also needed to know if I had to avert my eyes from plants on sale/in friends' gardens over there!

ruahead

Hi all, this thread is a little old. Has anyone brought any plants from UK to Ireland lately 2021 / 2022? We are moving back in July and would love to bring our plants if possible.

Thanks 🙏👍

Fogmatic

Any luck? I'd like to know too! (Guess Brexit muddles and Covid have been putting paid to experiences).

If you're still in the dark, it's probably best to ring/call in on someone who might know (e.g UK nurseries, or firms that do removals to Ireland), and go on from there, by phone or somewhere local if possible. (You're in the best place for that, unlike me!).

I wouldn't recommend the web for this - too many blind alleys, old and undated pages, etc. And too many variables to find the relevant combination (source of plants, their size, how they're packed, how many of them, which means of transport, which company within it, maybe which port/airport). The prohibited/restricted plants list I was always getting sent to is only the first step, and is the simplest bit (not long; mainly a few trees, a few vines, and a few other things that most people into gardening would rather avoid anyway). But maybe check that ASAP if you haven't already, just in case some certificate is needed (though hopefully it's quicker than it was pre-internet!).

I couldn't get a definite answer back in 2018 until declaring my plant at the airport returning from London, and never could find out before getting to Customs at the port or airport, ever since our move from London to Ireland 30 years ago. We never had any trouble in either direction (with all manner of plants), but it's 8 or 10 years since I drove over (before Bexit was even proposed).

The Continental Op

Basically no you can't bring any plants in from the UK. Thats all down to Brexit, pre Brexit it was fine.

Plants would include seed, bulbs and potatoes as well as potted and bare root plants.

Now if you want to get a phytosanitary certificate and do a load of paperwork and pay for it all which I believe is expensive then you can import plants into Ireland from the UK but very few companies bother anymore.

You can't even order packets of seed from the UK.

However if you are coming directly from France or other EU country EU laws apply and you can bring in most things. Think there might still be a ban on bringing spuds into Ireland though.

I travel over an back on the Ferry at least half a dozen times a year and Brexit has screwed up loads of things. Customs only allow you to bring one bottle of spirits in from the UK.

Fogmatic

Ah. What a bummer. But thanks for the clarification, Continental Op!

Well, it's bye-bye Chiltern Seeds. (I've raised most of our plants from their huge choice from all over the world, starting in the 1970s when we lived in London). Last time I looked, they'd suspended sending to Ireland for the time being, as a precaution against unwittingly flouting regulations before Brexit arrangements settled down and they knew the score. I just looked again, and accordingly there it is, under Delivery, in bold. ('No way', basically).

Our second most usual source of plants, seeds & cuttings was visiting our relatives, and apart from one in Canada they're all in the UK! (Ditto the majority of our friends).

Looks like it was all change on 1/1/21?

https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/import-and-export-plants-after-1-january-2021

I also read something on the web years ago (before all this) about Ireland becoming a protected zone botanically, being still maybe possible to conserve its native species (with relatively few alien species in the wild so far). I don't know if that came about, though. (It was connected with some organisation in the North, if memory serves).

Depending what plants Ruahead wanted to keep, hopefully at least some are replaceable from Irish sources. (It's nearly all outdoor plants on sale in my fairly remote area, and I'd guess it's largely indoor ones in cities). I only hope the new regulations aren't the last straw for too many small suppliers. (I expect just buying the seeds is quite a headache now).

ruahead

I called UK authority and as of 11 th April 2022 no privately owned plants can be imported into the EU. Eu 2021/2285 UK plant health information portal. What a joke! Ones from nurseries are ok.

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118992084#Comment_118992084

Ones from UK nurseries are not OK unless they have a health passport and additional paperwork.

Fogmatic

I'm a little confused re what they meant by 'privately owned' versus 'from nurseries', Ruahead. Did they mean that UK nurseries are allowed to export to Ireland business-to-business, but if an individual buys a plant from a UK nursery (making it privately owned), it can't be brought into Ireland?

(Assuming both can be bothered with the paperwork, of course).