30. (1) Regulations made by the Minister under this Act may provide for any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(2) The Minister may make regulations in respect of trees, forests and forestry-related activities in the State, including—

(a) the duties of owners of lands in respect of their trees and forests,

(b) the establishment and maintenance of such registers and the keeping of such records as may appear to the Minister to be expedient for the purposes of the relevant statutory provisions, and

(c) the addition of a paragraph to, or the deletion of a paragraph from, section 19(1) in order to update the categories of exempted trees.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), regulations under that subsection may relate to any or all of the following:

(a) afforestation;

(b) reforestation;

(c) maintenance of forests and trees;

(d) planting and harvesting of trees;

(e) replanting of trees;

(f) forest protection;

(g) forest road works;

(h) forest plant health;

(i) forest nurseries;

(j) forest roads and trails;

(k) forest reproductive material;

(l) forest research and statistics;

(m) training and education;

(n) reconstitution of forests;

(o) deforestation;

(p) removal of trees, including by felling;

(q) forest inventory;

(r) amenity use of forests;

(s) drainage of forests;

(t) application of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides in forests;

(u) Christmas trees;

(v) timber;

(w) short rotation crops in forests;

(x) forest biomass;

(y) protection of the environment, habitats and biodiversity;

(z) production and disposal (including sale) of timber and non-timber forest products;

(aa) wood packaging material;

(ab) traceability of forestry-related material from propagation stage to timber and non-timber products.

(4) When making regulations under subsection (2) the Minister shall have regard to the following:

(a) the promotion of afforestation;

(b) promoting the development of forests and forest-related activities and industries in such a way that forests provide an economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable yield of forest goods and services, while maintaining and enhancing their biological diversity;

(c) promoting good forest practice within the forestry and forestry-related sectors;

(d) the regulation and monitoring of forestry operations (including the construction of forest roads) to ensure that forests are properly managed in accordance with good forest practice;

(e) promoting knowledge and awareness of forestry;

(f) promoting education and training in forestry and related matters;

(g) ensuring that forests are protected against harmful pests, diseases and invasive species;

(h) the regulation of the marketing of forest reproductive material and conservation of the forest genetic resource;

(i) the collection and dissemination of information and statistics on forests, forestry and forest-based industry;

(j) the development and marketing of a quality-based forest industry sector;

(k) promoting the use of timber;

(l) the development of non-timber forest products;

(m) the monitoring and enhancement of water quality in all aspects of forestry;

(n) promoting the development of forests for the purposes of biodiversity, public amenity and recreation;

(o) ensuring that the categories of exempted trees are reconsidered from time to time in the light of silvicultural needs and values.

(5) Where the Minister is satisfied that there is a risk to trees, he or she may make regulations to protect them, including for the prevention of the introduction into the State, or the control or extermination within the State, of any insect, pest, invasive species, disease or organism.

(6) Regulations under subsection (5) may—

(a) regulate or restrict the landing in the State of anything which in the opinion of the Minister is likely to introduce a destructive disease, insect, pest, invasive species or organism,

(b) direct or authorise the destruction of any such article, if landed,

(c) direct the expulsion from the State of anything which in the opinion of the Minister is likely to introduce a destructive disease, insect, pest, invasive species or organism,

(d) direct or authorise the destruction of anything (including trees) upon which a destructive disease, insect, pest, invasive species or organism is found in any stage of existence,

(e) direct or authorise the destruction of any vegetation (including trees) to prevent the spread of a destructive disease, insect, pest, invasive species or organism, and

(f) empower any authorised officer to take such steps as he or she may think expedient to prevent the spread of any such destructive disease, insect, pest, invasive species or organism and to enter on any land and make enquiries in connection with anything in this section.

(7) The Minister may make regulations with respect to the making of grants in relation to an activity specified in any of paragraphs (a) to (g) of section 5(1).

(8) The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of giving effect to a provision of the treaties governing the European Union, or an act adopted by an institution of or the European Union, relating to forestry and forestry-related activities, including—

(a) the implementation of Council Directive 1999/105/EC of 22 December 1993²on the marketing of forest reproductive material,

(b) the establishment of procedures for afforestation and forest road works in respect of development consent (within the meaning of Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011³ on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment),

(c) timber,

(d) the prevention of the introduction into the State, or the control or extermination within the State, of any insect, pest, invasive species, disease or organism, which in the opinion of the Minister, may be destructive to trees,

(e) the prevention of the destruction of forests by fire, and

(f) ensuring that the integrity of the national forest estate is maintained.

(9) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (8), regulations under that subsection may—

(a) contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary for the purposes of the regulations (including provisions repealing, amending or applying, with or without modification, other law, exclusive of this section, the European Communities Act 1972 and the European Communities Act 2007),

(b) make provision in relation to the establishment and maintenance of such registers, and keeping of such records, as may be specified in the regulations,

(c) apply either generally or to such class or classes of trees, persons, places or activities as may be specified in the regulations, and

(d) prescribe persons to perform the functions of a competent authority for the purposes of the regulations and the provision of the treaties governing the European Union or act adopted by an institution of the European Union to which the regulations give effect.