Mr. Bill Callanan:

The OPW, in its guidance, includes the identification of signage when it uses pesticides in public areas. I am not sure if that translates into similar use by the local authorities. Let us be honest about it. Signage can be a valuable indicator but it can also be a point of continual challenge and focus. From our perspective, before a product is certified as approved, we have to be able to stand over its safety. The critical element from a Department point of view is the confidence. We are very open and transparent in terms of that process, which is very rigorous. Before any signage, I would think that is the piece on which we have to be very clear and unambiguous.

We are guided by science in regard to the approval process. There is a regulatory system at EU level which requires member states to take on a percentage of chemicals where there is a renewal of those safety assessments, and the Department does that. That is divvied out among member states and each member state has a legal responsibility to do a certain number of products. A huge workload goes into those. I know from Dr. Moody that the evaluation of one chemical can involve 10,000 or 12,000 pages of individual documents. That process is then overseen and feeds into Food Safety Authority of Ireland, FSAI, approval, which then feeds into the EU decision-making process. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is very much guided by that in terms of science and, therefore, safety has to be paramount in regard to products. Whether there are signs or not, our mantra is the overall affirmation of the safety associated.