Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1304. To ask the Minister for Health if she has engaged with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to discuss the promotion of bilingual food labelling in Ireland; if so, the outcomes of that engagement; and if not, whether she will commit to such coordination to ensure that future discussions on EU food labelling policy reflect the State’s obligations in respect of the Irish language. [29128/25]

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1305. To ask the Minister for Health if she will reconsider the remit of the inter-departmental group on the Food Information to Consumers Regulation to include the issue of bilingual labelling, in light of the State’s legal obligations to promote the Irish language under the Constitution and the Official Languages Acts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29129/25]

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1306. To ask the Minister for Health if she will support the inclusion of bilingual labelling as part of Ireland’s national position on future revisions to the EU Food Information to Consumers Regulation, even if such provisions are not currently included in the draft EU proposal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29130/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1304, 1305 and 1306 together.

As the Deputy may be aware, food labelling in the EU is governed by the Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011, which provides for the provision of food information to consumers.

As advised in previous Parliamentary Questions, in Ireland, bilingual labelling is provided for in S.I. No. 556/2014 – European Union (Provision of Food Information to Consumers) Regulations 2014. This legislation provides food business operators (FBOs) the flexibility to ensure that food placed on the market is accompanied by mandatory food information in (a) the English language, or (b) the Irish language and the English language. This flexibility was provided to ensure that the legislation was not creating a barrier to intra-EU trade, for example, if FBOs have to produce separate labels for different markets.

In May 2024, the Government introduced a package of support for SMEs, which included a commitment to ensure an enhanced SME Test will be applied to all new policy measures, where appropriate. It noted, it is important that policymakers employ the principle of 'Think Small First' and consider how the measure will impact businesses. This entails that full consideration is given to micro, small and medium enterprises, commonly referred to as SMEs, at the early policy development stage.

When the Commission initially indicated its intention to revise the FIC Regulation, my Department organised a public consultation. During this public consultation, concerns were expressed that any mandatory revisions in food labelling could have significant cost implications for food businesses, especially for the smaller food producers.

Therefore, any considerations on bi-lingual food labelling and discussions with the Department of Tourism Culture Arts Gaeltacht Sport and Media would be more appropriate after an assessment can be carried out on the implications for food businesses on any likely revisions that emerge after the Commission has published its legislative proposal and impact assessment on the above revision package.