Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 95: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the measures which the pesticide control service of her Department is taking to restrict the illegal importation and sale of agri-chemicals; the plans she has to review the legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17298/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy 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 that has not been registered. The regulatory system is designed to ensure a high level of protection for man, animals and the environment.

Products included on the register are made available to end users by a large number of distributors. Nevertheless distributors and farmers are free to source products from elsewhere provided that the products are registered in Ireland and subject to obtaining approval in each instance from my Department for their importation. The approval process for parallel imports involves simple checks to ensure that products to be imported are the same as those registered for use in Ireland and are appropriately labelled.

The enforcement programme undertaken 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. Illegal products found are seized and subject to destruction at owners expense. There were two instances last year.

I expect, on the basis of an ongoing review being carried out in my Department of arrangements for regulating the distribution and use of plant protection products, that additional amending legislation will be introduced before the end of 2005 to further strengthen the regulatory system.