Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 211: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if her Department is in support of a building (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11320/06]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 212: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if her attention has been drawn to a proposal to build an industrial scale anaerobic digester at the Deep Killurin, County Wexford; if her Department's standards of site suitability, animal disease control, hygiene and traceability will apply; if the resultant digestate will be suitable for spreading on grassland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11321/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 211 and 212 together.

In order to construct an anaerobic digester, planning permission from a local authority and approval from the Environmental Protection Agency is required. No approval from my Department is required. However, if on completion of the premises, it is proposed to use animal by-products as a feedstock in the digester, the approval of my Department must be received before it can commence commercial operation. Such approval is granted where the establishment meets all the requirements set down in the EU Animal By-product Regulation, EC 1774/2002, as amended.

However, where manure, digestive tract content separated from the digestive tract, milk and colostrums are the only material of animal origin being treated in an anaerobic digester, my Department may set requirements other than those specified in the regulation. This is dependent on my Department being satisfied that those materials do not present a risk of spreading any serious transmissible disease. These requirements would be assessed on a case by case basis.

The animal by-product regulation prohibits the application to pasture land of digestate of anaerobic digesters unless manure is the only animal by-product used as a feedstock in the digester.