George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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364. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the independent scientific assessment on the protection of the native Irish honey bee, carried out by NUIG, will be published; his views on the Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill 2021; if he has considered temporarily halting imports of honey bees as an interim measure to protect the Irish species until the study can be assessed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22222/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill 2021, a Private Members Bill lapsed with the dissolution of the Dáil last November.

When the Bill was proceeding through the Seanad my Department raised some concerns in relation to imposing a statutory ban on the importation of non-native honey bees as it could constitute a restriction on trade under EU Regulations.

Advice was sought from the Office of the Attorney General on this issue and it was considered that a total ban on the importation of certain species of honey bee would most likely face significant scrutiny on proportionality grounds, having regard to the case law of the European Court. The Office of the Attorney General also concluded that the legal and/or scientific basis to impose a ban on the importation of non-native honey bees has not been established with required certainty and evaluation in terms of proportionality and necessity; and that a scientific assessment would be required to substantiate the specific measure proposed in the Bill. Therefore, my Department procured independent scientific evidence and in October 2023, a 12 month contract was signed with the National University of Ireland, Galway for the provision of research services on the native Irish honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera).

The research work concluded in December 2024 and the research report is currently being evaluated. This evaluation process is expected to conclude shortly and when complete, the research and the outcome of this evaluation will be published. The steps to be taken thereafter will be informed by the evaluation report. It is prudent to wait until this process is complete before considering a temporary halt on the importation of honey bees.