Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I thank our guests for attending. I do not think four doctors have ever appeared together before an Oireachtas agriculture committee. That does not mean we are daunted by them; we are an incorrigible bunch. There has been much bad publicity about this issue in the past. There is no Green Party member of the committee in attendance at the moment, although perhaps he is attending remotely. Nevertheless, there are fears of a loss of control in regard to production, issues with seed production and scaremongering in regard to whether there will be plants that do not have valid or high-quality seeds. Another member mentioned Monsanto and there has been much international publicity about that company. This is very powerful technology. There was a reference earlier to how similar technology has been used in the context of human healthcare and it does not seem to present the same problem.

Will our guests elaborate on the issue of sustainable agriculture and the European Green Deal? How does this all fit in to the bigger picture and architecture of the European Green Deal? It is a very current issue that everyone is buying into. It is part of the CAP discussions and wider environmental issues. This country has a coalition Government including the Green Party, which has expressed strong views on the issue. Even so, when I ran a quick search within the programme for Government in advance of this meeting, I found no reference to the issue. It does not seem to be a commitment for the Government one way or the other. The then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, stated that Government would keep it under active consideration but there were no commitments. Clearly, there have been advances and it is a developing technology, but there genuine concerns and, in the absence of facts, people are somewhat frightened by it all.

How do our guests foresee the European Green Deal fitting in with all this aspiration, vision and planning? It is very important. In Ireland, responsibility for GMO policy and regulation comes under the Departments of the Environment, Communications and Climate Action, Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Health, the EPA and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Do our guests have views on that? Should it be more centralised? I appreciate there is overlap and I can see why, but they might outline their views. In the interests of reassuring people, how can all this be squared up? We have to make the language simple for people to understand.

I again thank the witnesses for coming in and for providing their papers in advance which we have all had an opportunity to read.