Publication
Plant Passports and Authorisation Application Process
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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Authorisation to Issue Plant Passports is required for Professional Operators who:
• Sell plants to other Professional Operators
• Sell plants online
• Sell Protected Zone plants
Plant Passports can only be issued by professional operators who are authorised to do so by the Department.
To be authorised to issue plant passports, Professional Operators must go through stages 1 and 2 outlined below:
a) Professional Operators must complete an online training course and competency assessment.
You can view the four training modules on YouTube here or download the module slides below:
Authorised Professional Operator Training Course – Module 1 Slides
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Authorised Professional Operator Training Course – Module 2 Slides
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Authorised Professional Operator Training Course – Module 3 Slides
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Authorised Professional Operator Training Course – Module 4 Slides
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b) Access the competency assessment on the EU Survey website and answer the multiple choice questions. (Please note this site does not support the use of the Internet Explorer browser.)
c) Request PDF confirmation of result from the EU Survey website by selecting ‘Get PDF’. The pass mark is 80% and the result will be generated automatically. (There is no limit on the number of attempts.)
d) Complete the ‘Application for Authorisation to issue Plant Passports’ form (available below) and return it together with a copy of the confirmation email referred to at point (c) to: plantandpests@agriculture.gov.ie .
Alternatively, the form and assessment results can be returned by post to:
Horticulture and Plant Health Division
Address:
Horticulture and Plant Health Division, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Floor 2 Block 3, Backweston Administration Building, Backweston Campus, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, W23 X3PH.
A Department inspector will conduct an on-site assessment to confirm your capacity to undertake measures to prevent the presence and spread of harmful pests as required under Regulation (EU) 2019/827.
Professional operators shall fulfil the following criteria in order to be eligible for authorisation in relation to the issuance of plant passports:
a) they have demonstrated to DAFM the necessary knowledge of the applicable rules relevant to the examinations carried out concerning the Union quarantine pests, protected zone quarantine pests and Union regulated non-quarantine pests (RNQP) that could affect the plants, plant products and other objects concerned.
b) they have demonstrated to DAFM the necessary knowledge of the best practices, measures and other actions required to prevent the presence and spread of the pests
c) they have an effective plan to be followed in case of any suspected occurrence or findings of the pests
d) they have demonstrated to DAFM the necessary knowledge and competence, for the performance of the required examinations of the plant, plant product or other object for the relevant pests and to take the measures referred to in point (b)
e) they have demonstrated to DAFM that they possess or have access to the necessary equipment and facilities for the performance of the required examinations of the plant, plant product or other object, and they also possess the capacity to take the measures referred to in point (b)
f) they have appointed a contact person responsible for the communication with DAFM with respect to the above and have communicated to the competent authority the contact details thereof.
When Stage 2 is passed the Department will process the authorisation and issue a letter with a Certificate of Authorisation to issue Plant Passports. If you do not pass the stage 2 inspection you will be given 14 days to meet any outlined requirements.
Regulation (EC) No. 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
• All plants for planting require a Plant Passport when moved between professional operator to professional operator.
• Under Plant Health Regulations, Protected Zones host plants for planting must have a plant passport to the end user. The final or end user is anyone who acquires plants or plant products for their own personal use.
• All distant sales operators (online sales) must be authorised to issue Plant Passports.
• Plant Passports have a common format throughout the EU.
• Plant Passports must be visible, legible and be clearly distinguishable from any other information or label.
• Due to the differences in size and characteristics of the plant material for which a plant passport is required, a certain degree of flexibility is ensured as regards the format style and size of the plant passport. There are various plant passport types available, which allow for these differences. These types do not specifically require a particular size for the plant passports or specify the use of a border line, the proportion, and the fonts used.
• The elements of the plant passport should be arranged within a rectangular or square shape and should be clearly separated from any other written or pictorial matter by a border line or otherwise. It is important to enhance the visibility of plant passports and their distinctiveness from any other information or label.
• Plant passports issued on or after 14 December must comply with the new format. Any plant passports issued before 14 December 2019 should remain valid until 14 December 2023.
Plant passport for movement within the European Union territory shall contain the following elements:
• The words ‘Plant Passport’ in its upper right-hand corner;
• The flag of the Union in its upper left-hand corner, printed in colour or in black and white;
• The letter ‘A.’, followed by the botanical name of the plant(s) species or taxon concerned, in the case of plants and plant products, or, where appropriate, the name of the object concerned, and, optionally, the name of the variety;
• The letter ‘B.’ , followed by subsequently the two-letter code for the Member State (IE for Ireland), in which the professional operator issuing the plant passport is registered, a hyphen and the registration number of the professional operator. For example, a professional operator registered in Ireland would record their registration number as: B IE001234
• The letter ‘C.’, followed by the traceability code of the plant, plant product or the other object concerned;
• The letter ‘D.’, where applicable followed by: the name of the third country of origin, or of the Member State of origin.
The traceability code referred to as point C may also be supplemented by a reference to a unique traceability barcode, hologram, chip or other data carrier, present on the trade unit.
Examples of Plant Passports for non-protected zones are available here:
Plant passport for movement into and within protected zones shall contain the following elements:
• The words ‘Plant Passport — PZ’ in its upper right-hand corner, in one of the official languages of the Union and in English, if different, separated by a slash;
• Immediately underneath those words, the scientific name(s) or the code(s) of the respective protected zone quarantine pest(s);
• The flag of the European Union in its upper left-hand corner, printed in colour or in black and white;
• The letter ‘A.’, followed by the botanical name of the plant species or taxon concerned, in the case of plants and plant products, or, where appropriate, the name of the object concerned and, optionally, the name of the variety;
• The letter ‘B.’, followed by subsequently the two-letter code for the Member State (IE for Ireland), in which the professional operator issuing the plant passport is registered and the registration number of the professional operator. For example, a professional operator registered in Ireland would record their registration number as: B IE001234
• the letter ‘C.’, followed by the traceability code of the plant, plant product or the other object concerned;
• the letter ‘D.’, where applicable followed by:
-the name of the third country of origin, or
-two letter code of the Member State of origin and, in the case of replacement of the plant passport,
• the registration number of the professional operator concerned who issued the initial plant passport or for whom the initial plant passport was issued by the competent authority.
The traceability code (‘C’) may also be supplemented by a reference to a unique traceability barcode, hologram, chip or other data carrier, present on the trade unit.
Examples of Plant Passports for Protected Zones are available here:
See a short video about Plant Passports:
Teagasc video guide to changes in plant passports with DAFM.
An authorised operator which has received a trade unit of plants, plant products or other objects for which a plant passport has been issued may issue a new plant passport for that trade unit, replacing the plant passport initially issued.
Where a trade unit of plants, plant products or other objects for which a plant passport has been issued is divided into two or more new trade units, the authorised operator responsible for those new trade units shall issue a plant passport for each new trade unit resulting from the division, provided that:
• Traceability requirements are fulfilled.
• The goods meet requirements as being free from pests or harmful organisms and any Protected Zone requirements if applicable.
• The characteristics of the plants, plant products or other objects concerned have not changed.
• In the case of Protected Zone hosts, in part D of the replacement plant passport Member State of origin details followed by the registration number of the professional operator concerned who issued the initial plant passport are required.