Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 23 Jun 1998

Vol. 492 No. 7

Written Answers. - Biotechnological Inventions.

John Gormley

Question:

119 Mr. Gormley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when she will commence the process of transposing into Irish law the EU Directive on biopatenting which allows unlimited patentability, including the possibility of patenting the human genome; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15260/98]

John Gormley

Question:

120 Mr. Gormley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the advice, if any, she has sought or received to date on the implications that the transposing of the EU Directive on biopatenting would have on access to food and medicines on the part of the Irish consumers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15261/98]

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. T. Kitt)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 119 and 120 together.

The EU Directive on the Legal Protection of Biotechnological Inventions recently adopted by the EU Council and European Parliament is likely to be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities during July. Member states, including Ireland, will be obliged to trans pose the provisions of the directive into their national laws within two years from that publi cation date. The directive does not allow unlimi ted patentability of subject matter. As in the case of inventions in other areas of technology, biotechnological inventions are patentable only if they are new and susceptible of industrial appli cation, and involve an inventive step. Patents will not be granted in respect of biotechnological inventions, the exploitation of which would be contrary to moral or ethical standards. The fol lowing are not patentable under the directive: (i) plant and animal varieties, and essentially biologi cal processes for the protection of plant and ani mals, (ii) the human body, at the various stages of its formation and development, and the simple discovery of one of its elements, including the sequence or partial sequence of a gene, (iii) pro cedures for reproductive cloning, (iv) processes for modifying the genetic identity of human beings, (v) uses of human embryos for industrial and commercial purposes, (vi) processes for mod ifying the genetic identity of animals, or animals resulting from such processes, which are likely to cause them suffering without substantial medical benefit to man or animals.

The objective of the EU Directive on the Legal Protection of Biotechnological inventions is to establish harmonised clear, and improved stan dards for the protection of biotechnological inventions with a view to furthering the innovat ing potential and competitivity of community sci ence and industry in this important area of mod ern technology. The implications of the directive will be examined by my Department in the con text of its transposition into Irish law and any rep resentations regarding the implementation of this directive will be considered by my Department.