Mr. Cian Ó Lionáin:

I shall answer only one or two of the questions asked and then pass over to my colleagues. I will start with the last question on a future role for the committee and pick up on a few of the other comments made.

Other members states also have many questions about the proposals made. They are trying to understand why the Commission has gone beyond the WHO's recommendations. Initially, it stated as this was the direction of travel, it might as well go ahead of the WHO, but that could present practical challenges on the ground. At the meetings of the working party in Brussels and the Council of Ministers, the process will evolve a lot. Therefore, there would be logic in coming back to the committee towards the end of the year to update it on how the process had evolved. From initial interactions in Brussels, I know that many questions are being raised.

On the risk-based approach, I will hand over to Mr. Colin Byrne who will talk about the technicalities. Perhaps the EPA might also like to contribute. There are other questions, but I will stop talking and hand over to Mr. Byrne.