Mr. Donal Coleman:

With regard to Deputy Ferris's question on standards, it is not just animals which pose a threat as plants also do. The plant propagation material legislation expressly provides for exact equivalence, in other words that EU standards on quality, disease, freedom and plant material would be exactly the same for any third country as for EU countries. Imports must be analogous. The Food and Veterinary Office in Grange will be the competent authority to decide where a third country wants to have a commercial arrangement with the EU with regard to plants, and it will carry out some of the external audits and controls. As Ms Sheridan stated earlier with regard to compensation for outbreaks of diseases in plants, it is covered by a different regulation and the person who deals with it is not here today. The Chairman may invite our colleague in this area to come before the committee on another occasion to deal with it. This ties into the question from Senator O'Neill on ash dieback disease, or chalara, which is a related area. I do not work in the area of plant health but the register kept by my section and that kept by the section dealing with plant health are integrated, which enhances our ability to react to an issue.

With regard to producer costs, plant reproduction is a slightly different area and is not normally covered by unannounced farm inspections. The primary cost is with regard to controlling seed assembly, seed houses and plant reproductive garden centres. This is where the cost element is.

To confirm the plant reproductive aspect for Deputy Pringle, it is not anticipated within that regulation that farmers and other seed producers would be regarded as microenterprises but would rather be regarded as farmer growers of seed. That is clear enough.

Deputy McNamara asked about our obligations concerning the database of species and its cost. There is a national obligation to maintain the national catalogue of agricultural species of plants and the vegetable species of plants, and that will not change. The cost of that catalogue is currently borne by the State. While it is early days in terms of the new regulation, the element of cost that might or might not be incurred by commercial applicants would be at a very low level. It is anticipated for those producing - let us say - small-scale local indigenous material that there would not be any charge if they wished to bring forward a new variety and register it, or in some cases there might be an extremely low charge. Certainly, the cost of regulation would be extremely low as well. While these are early days, this is not anticipated to be an issue of concern.