The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (the Minister) has published the draft General Scheme of the Deforestation and Forest Degradation Bill 2026, which is intended to give further effect to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in Ireland.

Reminder: What does the EUDR Require?

From 30 December 2026, the EUDR introduces supply chain due diligence obligations for operators and traders of “relevant commodities” (cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood) and “relevant products” i.e. the specified derived products listed in Annex I of the EUDR. Relevant commodities and relevant products are prohibited from being placed on, made available to, or exported from the EU market unless covered by a due diligence statement confirming that they are “deforestation free”.

Large and medium companies, as well as micro and small enterprises from the timber sector, are in scope from 30 December 2026 with other micro and small enterprises being brought within scope from 30 June 2027.

Deforestation and Forest Degradation Bill 2026

The General Scheme:

• Designates the Minister as the competent authority responsible for enforcing and administering the EUDR in Ireland (the Revenue Commissioners are not designated as a competent authority but have certain obligations under the EUDR).
• Establishes a range of offences for operators, traders and their authorised representatives.
• Empowers the Minister to extend, by regulation, the definitions of “relevant products”, “relevant commodities” and the land types covered, and to make regulations aimed at preventing deforestation and forest degradation.
• Provides for the appointment of authorised officers by the Minister and sets out their enforcement powers together with offences for the obstruction of, or the provision of false or misleading information to, such officers.
• Introduces penalties for non-compliance, ranging from a class A fine (up to €5,000) to fines of up to €10 million, 4% of EU-wide turnover or the economic benefit derived from the infringement, and/or imprisonment for up to three years on conviction on indictment.

The General Scheme also provides for a range of additional sanctions including the forfeiture of products and revenues, exclusion from public procurement and public funding opportunities for up to 12 months and prohibitions on placing, making available or exporting relevant commodities and products.

Directors and other officers of a company and its members may also be held personally liable where an offence committed by a body corporate is attributable to their consent, connivance, approval or wilful neglect.

Why this matters now?

The publication of the General Scheme represents a significant step towards the establishment of Ireland’s enforcement framework for the EUDR.

The European Commission adopted a delegated act on 13 July 2026 removing several products from EUDR scope (including cattle hides, leather and rethreaded tyres) and adding others (including soluble coffee and certain palm oil derivatives) which become subject to the EUDR from 30 December 2027. The Commission also recently published guidance on deforestation free products.

Businesses affected by the EUDR should continue to monitor the progress of the Bill and take steps to ensure that appropriate due diligence, traceability and governance arrangements are in place ahead of the EUDR’s application from 30 December 2026.