Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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343. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 55 of 1 February 2017, the efforts that have been made to invoke the urgency procedure to shorten the notification period with respect to the tablet regulations and to ensure protection of public health and safety in order that the relevant orders can be signed with respect to the Misuse of Drugs Act. [14963/17]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the Technical Standards Directive Member States are required to inform the European Commission of any new regulations or standards which may create a barrier to the free movement of goods. Since these draft Regulations have the potential to affect trade, in particular because of the introduction of a requirement for import licences, they must be notified to the EU whilst they are in draft form and before they are adopted in national law.

Notified regulations are usually subject to a 3-month standstill period to enable the Commission and the other Member States to examine the notified text and to respond appropriately. As the regulations related to the protection of public health or safety, the Department invoked an urgency procedure which shortened the notification period to 10 days. The Commission did not raise any objections and this process has now been completed. It is therefore expected that the various Regulations and Orders will be commenced in the coming weeks when the drafting is complete.