Mr. Paul Savage:

As I said, the new data and variables to be included in the future FSDN will be set out in secondary legislation. The Commission will take account of the need to limit the administrative burden on farmers and national authorities. Consultation on the proposal has taken place with the main stakeholder groups, who are largely in favour of the FSDN initiative.

A proposal for a sustainable use of pesticides regulation to replace the existing sustainable use directive, SUD, was published by the Commission on 22 June 2022. The proposed revision of the SUD is one of the 27 actions outlined in the farm to fork strategy. The proposed regulation includes a legal basis for the EU pesticide reduction targets to reduce the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50% by 2030. It also establishes additional requirements for the use, storage, sale and disposal of pesticides, for pesticide application equipment, training, awareness raising, the implementation of integrated pest management and the prohibition of pesticide use in and around certain defined areas. While Ireland supports the overall objectives of the farm to fork strategy, the targets for pesticides are ambitious and challenging. It must also be recognised that the usage levels of pesticides in Ireland are amongst the lowest in the EU due to our predominantly grass-based production system.

This proposed regulation is at an early stage in negotiations. Discussions began at Council working group on 13 July 2022 and are expected to continue at Council over the next 12 to 18 months. The Department will continue to work constructively with stakeholders and other member states on this important topic. Indeed, we have recently opened a written public consultation on the proposal.

I hope this opening statement has given committee members a good overview of the four regulations and my colleagues and I look forward to discussing them further with the committee.