Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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449. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will detail his action following on from Commission Directive 2012/24/EU of 8 October 2012 amending, for the purpose of adapting its technical provisions, Council Directive 86/297/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the power take-offs of tractors and their protection; if he will detail the contents of the Directive and the implications it has for Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29052/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Commission Directive 2012/24/EU amending the technical provisions of Council Directive 86/297/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the power take-offs (PTO’s) of tractors and their protection was published on the 8 October 2012. Member States have until 31 October 2013 to adopt the obligations of this Directive and my Department is currently preparing secondary legislation to give effect to these requirements.

Directive 86/297/EEC laid down technical dimensions and clearance zones around PTO’s. However, as tractor design has moved on considerably since that Directive was introduced in 1986, the location imposed by it is not compatible with several newer tractor models. The amending Directive 2012/24/EU updates the old specifications and makes provision for front PTO’s as laid down in ISO 8759-1:1998 (with the exception of clause 4.2). This will make the specification more practical for modern tractors. This amended legislation applies only in Member States that manufacture or type-approve tractors and so will have little or any implications for Ireland.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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450. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will detail his action following on from Directive 2012/12/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 April 2012 amending Council Directive 2001/112/EC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products intended for human consumption; if he will detail the contents of the Directive and the implications it has for Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29053/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Council Directive 2001/112/EC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products lays down rules on the production, composition and labelling of these products. These rules have been amended by Directive 2012/12/EU to take into account technical progress in fruit juice processing and the codex standard for fruit juices and nectars, which was adopted in 2005.

Directive 2012/12/EU will apply from 28^th October 2013. The amendment introduces new rules on authorised ingredients, such as those pertaining to the addition of sugars which are no longer authorised in fruit juice, fruit juice from concentrate, concentrated fruit juice, water extracted fruit juice, and dehydrated/powdered fruit juice. For this reason the nutrition claim 'no-added sugar' will no longer be permitted on these products. For the purpose of this Directive, tomatoes have been redefined as a fruit, therefore tomato juice and similar products will now fall under the scope of Directive 2001/112/EC. The compositional requirements of fruit nectar have also been amended and from the 28^th October 2013 fruit nectars can be produced with, or without the addition of sugars, and/or honey. The amendment also introduces a new category of juice; water extracted fruit juice.

Officials from my Department are working in close cooperation with the FSAI authorities to ensure that clear guidance will be provided to industry on all the implications of the Directive. Consultation with industry representatives is ongoing.