Ireland’s beekeepers are set to create a buzz at Leinster House this Thursday in a bid to secure a ban on the importation of non-native bees into Ireland.

Leading the rally, chair of the Native Irish Honey Bee Society (NIHBS) Aoife Níc Giolla Códa said beekeepers are congregating to get a Seanad bill introduced by Senator Vincent Martin “over the line”.

The import ban has cross-party support, said Níc Giolla Códa. She warned that non-native bee imports increased by 327% between 2019 and 2021 and said that this is having a “massive negative impact” on the genetic conservation of Ireland’s native bees through hybridisation.