Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 24 November 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Recall of Sanitiser Products: Discussion

Photo of Paul DalyPaul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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As some of what I had intended to raise has been covered by Deputy Carthy, I will turn to the sanctioning of the company that supplied the product. The product has been a cause of skin irritation. In case people have long-term issues down the line, have we examined how the company of supply will be held to account? In responding to Deputy Carthy, the Minister might answer my questions about the sanctioning of the supply company.

Given the current application process and the circumstances we are in, there has never been so great a need for this type of product. The Minister stated the Department has employed additional testers or laboratory facilities, but how we can expedite the licence process, in light of the urgent need, while at the same time ensuring that we will not find ourselves in similar circumstances again? Have there been any changes, based on the experience we have had, to the current application system and to the random testing of products after they have been licensed?

My final question goes back to one I asked the Minister at the previous session. As he stated earlier, we have an all-island animal welfare policy. Depending on how Brexit materialises this year or early next year, how will the all-island policy affect the licensing of products such as this one? Will products that are not licensed here be smuggled, imported or whatever from the North, or from the UK through Northern Ireland? Could such a scenario arise in this area post Brexit?