Over 38,000 people are now registered as professional pesticide users across the country, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has confirmed.

A professional user is any person who applies or sprays professional use plant protection products.

This includes operators, technicians, employees, and self-employed people, both in farming and other sectors.

Only a Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAM) registered professional user can apply plant protection products which are authorised for professional use.

Minister McConalogue said that prior to becoming a registered as a professional user, a person must have a minimum level of training which is achieved by completing a suitable course which is recognised by DAFM.

In response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill, the minister said that to date 38,097 have completed an appropriate training course and are registered as a professional user.

Cork currently has the highest number of registered professional pesticide users at 4,471, followed by Galway (3,364) and Mayo (2,914).

The county with the lowest number of professional users is Louth at 539.

The following table provides a full county-by-county breakdown of registered professional pesticide users:

The department of agriculture is responsible for the EU's Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive.

This legislation specifies various measures to reduce risks to human health and the environment from pesticide use.

These measures include requirements for training and certification of professional users of pesticides.