Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is a pity that the Minister left because many Deputies ran to the Chamber to get answers. I compliment Deputy Carthy on raising the issue of Virapro. My understanding is that it has been known about for a while. I will let Deputy Carthy talk about that. I would also like to refer to the issue of PCS numbers. We raised this at the Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine. Companies have been waiting a hell of a long time to get their PCS numbers. Today, the company that supplies this product said it has an alternative product which it can supply straight away. I do not know how another product can be supplied straight away, since the PCS number does not automatically jump from one product to another. It would be interesting to see how many products the PCS number was attributed to.

The Minister is not here, so I do not know who I am talking to - perhaps the lights or the walls. I wanted to ask if he could confirm that the people who review applications for PCS numbers, which are the be-all and end-all where this issue is concerned, are all working separately. I have spoken to a person who liaised on Ireland's behalf in this area seven or eight years ago. Those reviewing the applications must be brought together to evaluate the product in order to ensure a scientific detail is not missed. We are not doing that at the moment and that is a problem. People are working from different angles. New applicants are trying to bring in new products that have been tested and evaluated, but they face a six-month backlog of evaluations.

I have another question for the Minister. Since the beginning of Covid-19, have we been awarding PCS numbers to everything that comes along and rushing it out the door without looking at it? Is this the consequence of that practice? The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has to do this for everything, including sprays, Domestos and other products. I need those questions answered. I would like them to be put on the record of the Dáil in order that we get answers.

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