Dr. J.G. Beechinor:

Since the report was prepared in December 2019, the HPRA has engaged with a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including farmers, licensed merchants, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, companies and so on. We have engaged with them to ensure that the products comply by January 2022, which is when the new regulation becomes applicable.

In terms of labelling of packages, a company may produce a product for Ireland once or twice a year, so it needs to get it right. It needs to sequence the change with other changes. For example, we update the warnings on products. We may decide it needs a new environmental warning, so in order to avoid companies having to destroy labelling and waste money, we try to sequence our time of changes to try to make it easier on the companies. That is why we wanted to announce it well in advance.

There is a certain wash through time from products in the current cycle, that is, in the distribution chain. Depending on the product, that might take six months or longer to wash through. We are trying to work with companies through that process.

I accept Senator Lombard has probably, at this point in time, seen products on the market change because this change process has started and products have issued with the approval of the HPRA. Companies cannot make this change without submitting a variation application the HPRA. We have incentivised that, so they do not pay any money for it. It is not of their making, so they should not be out of pocket for it. We have incentivised that. That change process is happening and that is to ensure everybody is aware of the next steps and to minimise the costs on the industry.

In terms of Northern Ireland and the different regimes, it is a valid question but it is really for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

It is my understanding that this may still be a live issue with the Department through the Northern Ireland protocol. It is not my area. I believe that it is the expertise of the Department, which would be best placed to comment on it. From our discussions with the Department it has said that a suitably qualified person, SQP, in Northern Ireland can only prescribe in respect of herds in Northern Ireland. They cannot do otherwise. I do not know whether, in the fullness of time, this regime will continue. Prompted by a European Commission audit they may say there is laxity in the system, for example. None of us around this table wanted to see what we saw on a recent "Prime Time" programme. Again, I would expect the European Commission to be alive to that. It is not our area, however, and I do not believe we should comment.