The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine issued Area Monitoring System Notifications (AMS) for the presence of potential artificial surfaces on Tuesday 24 June. Examples of artificial surfaces listed include farm roadways, farmyards or farmyard extensions, house sites, rocky areas or other existing features which may not be excluded correctly.
The closing date for responding to notifications is 8 July 2025. The facility provides applicants with an opportunity to correct scheme applications, and it is important to note that once an AMS response is submitted it cannot be amended.
Applicants and their authorised FAS Advisor will be notified of red parcels via agfood.ie. Only applicants with red parcels will receive a notification.
Where an applicant is signed up for text message alerts, a text will issue to advise them that they have a notification on their BISS account.
The Department explains that when an AMS notification/text message alert is received, the applicant should respond by the required deadline by following these steps:
Applicants who have applied through a FAS approved advisor, should contact their advisor in relation to responding to the AMS notification by the deadline provided. Log into agfood.ie online account to read the notification on the AMS screen. Access to view the map of the parcel is available through the view map icon.Applicants have the option to accept or reject the AMS findings. Applicants will be issued with AgriSnap™ requests, if they reject an artificial surface finding. Applicants can contact ams@agriculture.gov.ie for any queries they may have.
Farmers who imported organic nutrients between 1 January and 30 June 2025 must verify the movement by 14 July 2025.
Failure to verify the movement within the required timeframe will render the movement void and could jeopardise an exporter’s stocking rate limit where nutrients are being exported to stay within a certain threshold.
Importers who receive organic nutrients from 1 July to 31 December 2025 must verify such movements by 14 January 2026. These rules apply to all farmers irrespective of their stocking rate.
The movement can be recorded by a farmer or a Farm Advisory System (FAS) advisor approved to act on their behalf.
There are two main ways of farmers notifying the Department of an export movement or import verification – through the Department’s agfood.ie portal or their nutrient movement app.
The app is available to download at https://nitrates-exports-ui.apps.services.agriculture.gov.ie/
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is urging holidaymakers to be aware of regulations protecting endangered plants and animals from illegal trade.
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan is urging holidaymakers to avoid bringing home souvenirs that could land them in trouble by endangering biodiversity.
The regulations are known as CITES, which stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The minister said: “Many people don’t realise that everyday souvenirs – such as ivory trinkets, coral jewellery, reptile skin products, certain orchids, and traditional medicines – can be illegal to bring into Ireland under CITES regulations. These items may seem harmless, but their trade threatens endangered species and can result in confiscation at the border.
I urge everyone to check before they buy and help protect our planet’s precious biodiversity.”
Minister O’Sullivan reaffirmed Ireland’s ongoing commitment to international biodiversity and its leadership in plant protection in his opening of the 11th European Regional CITES Meeting on Plants from 25–27 June 2025, hosted by NPWS and held in University College Dublin and the Botanic Gardens, Dublin.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine issued Area Monitoring System Notifications (AMS) for the presence of potential artificial surfaces on Tuesday 24 June. Examples of artificial surfaces listed include farm roadways, farmyards or farmyard extensions, house sites, rocky areas or other existing features which may not be excluded correctly.
The closing date for responding to notifications is 8 July 2025. The facility provides applicants with an opportunity to correct scheme applications, and it is important to note that once an AMS response is submitted it cannot be amended.
Applicants and their authorised FAS Advisor will be notified of red parcels via agfood.ie. Only applicants with red parcels will receive a notification.
Where an applicant is signed up for text message alerts, a text will issue to advise them that they have a notification on their BISS account.
The Department explains that when an AMS notification/text message alert is received, the applicant should respond by the required deadline by following these steps:
Applicants who have applied through a FAS approved advisor, should contact their advisor in relation to responding to the AMS notification by the deadline provided. Log into agfood.ie online account to read the notification on the AMS screen. Access to view the map of the parcel is available through the view map icon.Applicants have the option to accept or reject the AMS findings. Applicants will be issued with AgriSnap™ requests, if they reject an artificial surface finding. Applicants can contact ams@agriculture.gov.ie for any queries they may have.
Farmers who imported organic nutrients between 1 January and 30 June 2025 must verify the movement by 14 July 2025.
Failure to verify the movement within the required timeframe will render the movement void and could jeopardise an exporter’s stocking rate limit where nutrients are being exported to stay within a certain threshold.
Importers who receive organic nutrients from 1 July to 31 December 2025 must verify such movements by 14 January 2026. These rules apply to all farmers irrespective of their stocking rate.
The movement can be recorded by a farmer or a Farm Advisory System (FAS) advisor approved to act on their behalf.
There are two main ways of farmers notifying the Department of an export movement or import verification – through the Department’s agfood.ie portal or their nutrient movement app.
The app is available to download at https://nitrates-exports-ui.apps.services.agriculture.gov.ie/
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is urging holidaymakers to be aware of regulations protecting endangered plants and animals from illegal trade.
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan is urging holidaymakers to avoid bringing home souvenirs that could land them in trouble by endangering biodiversity.
The regulations are known as CITES, which stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The minister said: “Many people don’t realise that everyday souvenirs – such as ivory trinkets, coral jewellery, reptile skin products, certain orchids, and traditional medicines – can be illegal to bring into Ireland under CITES regulations. These items may seem harmless, but their trade threatens endangered species and can result in confiscation at the border.
I urge everyone to check before they buy and help protect our planet’s precious biodiversity.”
Minister O’Sullivan reaffirmed Ireland’s ongoing commitment to international biodiversity and its leadership in plant protection in his opening of the 11th European Regional CITES Meeting on Plants from 25–27 June 2025, hosted by NPWS and held in University College Dublin and the Botanic Gardens, Dublin.
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