Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)

My heart sank on realising the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, has responsibility for whether funding is allocated. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has spoken of building a brand in respect of Irish agriculture and this brand is about clean, green high-quality food for the export market. One of the fastest-growing food labels in both Europe and the United States is the GM-free food label and anything that would harm the brand and image of Irish agriculture would be detrimental. A recent survey was carried out in which 87% of those surveyed thought the GM sector could not be regulated and approximately 70% of respondents thought GM foodstuffs should not even be brought into being. My question pertains to the application. I am unsure whether I missed the detail in the answer but when does the Minister of State expect a decision on the application to be made by the Minister, Deputy Hogan?

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