Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

206. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the basis on which glyphosate is licensed for use in products such as Round Up and Clinic Ace; the tests carried out to ensure glyphosate is not carcinogenic; if the findings of the International Agency for Research on Cancer were considered before licensing glyphosate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27446/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Decisions on the authorisation of an active substance, such as glyphosate, are made at EU level following advice from the European Food Safety Authority. Member states have competence to authorise products containing EU-approved active substances. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that must be applied directly to plant foliage for activity. It was first commercialised in the mid 1970s and is registered worldwide. It is used in agriculture, forestry, industrial, home and garden, and semi aquatic areas.

Glyphosate is primarily used as a means of total weed control prior to the establishment of field crops or at the very end of the growing season to desiccate the crop to manipulate harvest date and improve crop quality. It is important to note that there is no alternative active substance with similar scope, purpose and safety profile.

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 regulates the authorisation, marketing and use of plant protection products and as such each registration must conform to the norms, methodologies and principles contained therein. Glyphosate is currently registered in all EU Member States and was last reviewed in 2002, as part of the EU plant protection product review programme. A scheduled re-review is currently underway, with Germany acting as the rapporteur and Slovakia acting as the co-rapporteur. The process of peer reviewing the German/Slovakian evaluation is coming to a conclusion and it is expected that this process will be completed within the next few months. As part of the process the European Food Safety Authority is co-ordinating a review by all member states of its evaluation.

When the International Agency for Research and Cancer (IARC) monograph on glyphosate becomes available (expected in August), the German evaluators will perform a thorough review of the classification issued by IARC. It should be noted that conclusions of this IARC review are contradictory to the conclusions reached by the JMPR (Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues) which like the IARC, is also an office of the United Nations. It is also important to note that the WHO has convened an expert task force to investigate the differing conclusions of two of its own bodies.

All uses of glyphosate approved in Ireland (including Clinic Ace and Round Up) are in line with approved uses in all other EU Member States and are only granted if the appropriate risk assessment indicates that safe uses are possible under normal conditions.