Dr. Thomas McLoughlin:

Some points were raised in respect of the EPA. Senator Ó Domhnaill raised the matter of bio-safety research. Over a 25 year period the EU has spent €300 million of taxpayers' money looking at bio-safety research in respect of food safety, environmental safety and safety in laboratories. The research was published in 2010 by the then Commissioner, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. Some of this research was carried out by universities in Ireland. It was all independent research. The results showed that GM technologies per seare no more dangerous than conventional crop breeding.

Another point was raised in respect of field trials and gene flow. We had a number of field trials with herbicide-tolerant sugar beets in the 1990s.

The EPA looked very closely at the results in subsequent years when the sugar beet was planted. We did not see the emergence of any tolerance to related weed species. Unfortunately, we have no sugar beet industry now.

The current Teagasc trial is looking at indicators for biodiversity. Again, this particular trial is funded by EU taxpayers. The trial is comparing different types of management, i.e. integrated pest management. It is also looking at Sarpo Mira, a naturally tolerant potato variety, compared to GM and non-GM varieties. The results will come out in 2016 or around that time. Of course, that gene came from a potato. It was what is called a cisgenic potato.

A committee member asked whether this was new. GM technology has been occurring for thousands of years. I am referring to genetic modification per sein plants and animals. Let us consider the wheat crop we have today. It is not comparable to the wheat crop from 100 years ago, for example. Again, there is intervention by plant breeders and the use of technologies like chemical mutagenesis. As I mentioned, I believe these new techniques will circumvent the acronym GMO. This is because we will not be able to differentiate between whether the resulting apple from an apple tree will have any new trait. There will be no new DNA protein because of how the technology has moved.

Someone mentioned feeding the world. Certainly, we need every tool in the toolbox. We are experiencing climate change. Certain pathogens are emerging in Ireland, including Schmallenberg, the virus that effects abortion in sheep. That came in approximately ten years ago. There is also ash dieback disease. Can we actually manage without this technology? Let us consider what has happened with the Ebola virus and how it was treated. It was by using GM technology in Sierra Leone. We need to look very carefully at it. GM technology is not a panacea for all our ills but it is certainly an important tool in the toolbox.