The Irish Government has published a General Scheme for the Deforestation and Forest Degradation Bill 2026 which will give further effect to the EU’s Deforestation Regulation in Ireland. It sets out proposed offences and penalties for non-compliance, as well as significant enforcement powers.
Our Planning & Environment team examines the key provisions and what operators and traders need to know.
What you need to know
- The EU’s Deforestation Regulation comes into force on 30 December 2026 for large and medium-sized operators and traders, and 30 June 2027 for micro and small enterprises.
- The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be the competent authority for the regime in Ireland.
- The draft General Scheme proposes to empower the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to expand the scope of relevant products, relevant commodities, and types of land that are subject of the Act.
- It sets out the enforcement powers, offences and penalties that will apply under Irish law.
Introduction
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) comes into force on 30 December 2026 for large and medium-sized operators and traders, and 30 June 2027 for micro and small enterprises. It aims to ensure that certain goods made from relevant commodities that are bought and sold on the EU market do not drive global deforestation and forest degradation. We previously reviewed the EU’s simplification of the EUDR.
The Irish Government has published a General Scheme for the Deforestation and Forest Degradation Bill 2026. This will give further effect to the EUDR, primarily by setting out the offences and penalties for failing to comply with the EUDR. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be the competent authority in Ireland.
Scope of law
The General Scheme proposes to empower the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to expand the scope of the relevant commodities, relevant products and type of land that are subject to the law.
For example, the Minister could make regulations extending the scope of the law beyond forested land to include:
- Other wooded land, or
- Other natural ecosystems, including land with high carbon stocks and biodiversity value like grasslands, peatlands and wetlands.
This proposal takes account of the fact that Article 34 of the EUDR provides that those areas must be periodically reviewed by the European Commission. The intention therefore is to provide flexibility in the national legislation to respond to potential changes at EU level.
The EU has published a draft delegated regulation that aims to provide further clarification regarding relevant products.
Offences
The offences provided in the General Scheme relate to the core obligations under the EUDR. For example, it will be an offence to export, place or make available on the market, relevant commodities and relevant products unless they are:
- Deforestation-free
- Have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production, and
- Covered by a due diligence statement or a simplified declaration, as required.
It will also be an offence for operators to:
- Fail to carry out due diligence
- Export or place products on the market without having submitted a due diligence statement via the dedicated Information System, and
- Fail to notify relevant stakeholders of new due diligence information.
There is a simplified due diligence regime for micro and small primary operators. It is nevertheless important that they comply with their simplified obligations. It will be an offence if operators fail to submit a one-time simplified declaration before exporting or placing relevant products on the market.
Similarly, it will be an offence for downstream operators and traders not to register on the Information System and possess the required due diligence information.
It is important that due diligence is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the EUDR. It will be an offence not to comply with these requirements. For example, due diligence must:
- Include information, documents and data demonstrating that the relevant products meet the relevant criteria
- Ensure that the information is subject to a risk assessment, and
- Where appropriate, adopt risk mitigation procedures and measures.
It is important the due diligence systems are reviewed and updated as appropriate. All information and records must be retained for at least five years.
Penalties
The General Scheme proposes penalties for offences. Certain offences will incur a penalty of a Class A fine only, currently not exceeding €5,000. No custodial sentence is proposed for in-scope offences.
All other offences may be tried summarily or on indictment. On summary conviction, offences may be punishable by a Class A fine and/or up to six months imprisonment.
On conviction on indictment, penalties may include a monetary fine and/or imprisonment for up to three years. The monetary fine may be up to the greater of:
- €10,000,000
- 4% of the aggregate EU-wide turnover in the financial year preceding the sentencing, or
- An amount equal to the potential economic benefit gained from the offence.
Convicted persons will also be liable to pay the costs of their prosecution.
Other enforcement powers
The General Scheme proposes to empower the Minister to make regulations to deter deforestation and forest degradation. These may include enforcement powers such as, for example:
- Investigations and interim measures
- Prohibitions on relevant products and relevant commodities from being placed on the market or exported
- Seizure and disposal of relevant products and relevant commodities
- Direction to carry out due diligence or communicate information downstream
- Require publication of corrective actions
- Temporary exclusion from public procurement processes.
Authorised officers will have broad powers of inspection, seizure and detention. This is similar to powers under existing legislation for other areas of environmental law.
Offences found to have been committed by a body corporate may lead to its directors, managers and other officers also being prosecuted for the same offence in certain circumstances.
Forestry Act 2014
The Forestry Act 2014 will be amended to ensure forestry operations can continue without breaching the EUDR. For example, it is proposed to amend the Minister’s functions to include the deterrence of deforestation and forest degradation. The “exempted trees” provisions under Section 19 of the Act will also be amended to include the removal of trees by local authorities for authorised development.
Comment
It is necessary for the Government to introduce national legislation to give further effect to the EUDR. The proposals set out in the General Scheme largely relate to ensuring the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has the necessary statutory powers to ensure compliance. Most stakeholders will already be familiar with these enforcement powers from other areas of environmental law. Operators and traders should review their due diligence management systems to ensure compliance.
For more information and expert advice on ensure compliance with the EUDR, contact a member of our Planning & Environment team.
The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.