Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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223. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of seed potato produced in the State; the amount imported to the State from Scotland by year in each of the years 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59288/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The quantity of seed potato certified by my Department’s inspectors since 2016 to 2020 is listed in Table 1 below.  The quantity of seed potato imported from Scotland for the same period is listed in Table 2.  Figures relating to 2021 are not currently available.

Table 1

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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224. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the increased resources provided to his Departments seed certification team in order to increase domestic capacity to produce seed potato in response to Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59289/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware the average area of seed potatoes certified in Ireland for the years 2016 - 2020 was 231 hectares, ranging from 203 hectares in 2019 to 253 in 2016.

The area for certification in 2021 increased to 299 hectares giving a 29% increase over the mean of the previous five years.

The Department has sufficient staff resources assigned to the inspection and certification of seed potato crops. In the event that there is a significant increase in the area of seed potatoes entered for certification in 2022,  as a result of the reduction in imports following Brexit, my Department is committed to ensuring that adequate resources are made available to certify the additional area.

My officials are monitoring the area to be entered for certification in 2022.