In a recent parliamentary question, TD for Cork East, Noel McCarthy, asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, about the process involved in approving new pesticides for agricultural use.

The Minister stated that pesticide active substances contained in plant protection products (PPPs) are approved centrally at EU level, based on detailed scientific assessments prepared by member state authorities, and a rigorous peer review process managed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

New PPPs containing EU-approved active substances are then approved, or not, in accordance with evaluation and decision-making criteria agreed at EU level, taking account of local agri-environmental conditions and the requirements of the EU zonal system for PPP authorisation.

The zonal system divides the EU into three regulatory zones, northern, central, and southern. Ireland is part of the central zone.

It provides for the assessment of an application by one member state in a zone on behalf of other member states in that zone, who can subsequently decide whether or not to mutually recognise the primary authorisation.

A company wishing to obtain an authorisation for a new PPP makes an application to the competent authority of the member states in which they wish to market the product.

Applications for the Irish market are managed by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM), which is the national competent authority for pesticides.

In cases where a detailed technical risk assessment of the scientific data is required, this is carried out by DAFM, taking account of peer-reviewed data provided by other member state experts.

Based on the outcome of the assessment and taking risk management criteria into account the product is authorised with specific label instructions and appropriate risk mitigation measures where warranted.

Once the authorisation is issued by DAFM the product can be placed on the market.