Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I propose to answer Questions Nos. 33 and 46 together.

The House will be aware that it is an offence, punishable at the discretion of the courts by imprisonment for a term of six months or a fine not exceeding €3,000, or both, to import, place on the market or use a plant protection product which has not been registered. The regulatory system is designed to ensure a high level of protection for man, animals and the environment. While products included on the register are made available to end-users by a large number of distributors, distributors and farmers are free to source products from elsewhere provided they are registered in Ireland and subject to approval of their importation in each instance from my Department. The approval process for parallel imports involves simple checks to ensure the products to be imported are the same as those registered for use in Ireland and are appropriately labelled.

The enforcement programme involves routine and targeted inspections at the premises of wholesale and retail distributors and end users. Recent reports of illegal importation of plant protection products are being investigated. Where illegal products are found on the market, they are seized and subject to destruction at the owner's expense. Operators may also be subject to prosecution and fines up to €3,000 or six months imprisonment.

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