Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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266. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount his Department has spent on a hand sanitiser (details supplied) before its manufacturer recalled the product in October 2020; and if the State has been reimbursed for these costs. [46896/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Department implements the Biocidal Product Regulation (EU No. 528/2012) to ensure that biocidal products placed on the Irish market are safe for humans, animals and the environment. Hand sanitisers and indeed certain other products such as disinfectants and some brands of wipes are biocidal products.

All biocidal products, including hand sanitisers must be registered with the Department before being placed on the market.

I wish to advise the Deputy that before centrally purchased supplies became fully available at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is possible that some small amounts of hand sanitiser products purchased locally may have been of a brand subsequently subject to a recall.

However, all these supplies would have been used up before the recall that occurred later in 2020. On that basis, the Department can report that it did not seek any reimbursements.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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267. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total spend on external contractors, consultancy services and other outsourcing in 2018 and 2019. [46920/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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It is not possible to provide the information requested by the Deputy in the required time. The information is currently being compiled and I will forward it to the Deputy as soon as it is available.