Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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187. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the length of the approval process for PGI applications to the Europe Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40609/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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There is a common application procedure across Member States for PGI applications in the form of a specification document and a common single document to be completed by the applicant.

My Department, as the Competent Authority, assesses whether the application dossier fulfils the necessary criteria and, if and when satisfied, publishes it on the Department website for a national opposition procedure, considers any oppositions received and where satisfied it is in order, forwards the application dossier to the European Commission.

There is no specific regulatory time limit for the approval process by my Department. The time period depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to the complexity of the application, the detailed information provided by the applicant, and the time taken to follow up on issues arising.

Once an application has been sent to the European Commission, the EU Regulation provides that the scrutiny by the Commission should not exceed a period of six months. However, the Regulation also provides that where this period is exceeded, the Commission shall indicate in writing to the applicant the reasons for the delay. Where, based on the scrutiny carried out, the Commission considers that the requirements are fulfilled, it shall publish the single document in the Official Journal of the EU. Oppositions may be lodged with the Commission by a Member State or a third country within three months from the date of publication in the Official Journal.

In light of the foregoing, it is not possible to give a precise length of time for the approval process for a PGI application.

Howver, I believe that the PGI application, should it be successful, can be very beneficial for our beef sectors and our farmers. Helping to add value to the qulaity food our farms produce is a key priority of this Government.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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188. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the average processing time for a joint jurisdiction PGI application to be approved by the Europe Union; the number of joint jurisdiction PGI applications rejected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40610/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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To date, there have been no all-island PGI applications for food received by my Department.

Separately, Ireland's three PGI Spirit Drink GIs are recognised on an all-island basis. The Technical Files detailing the product specifications for the Spirit Drink Geographic Indications were submitted to the EU Commission in February 2015 and registered in March 2019.