Vol. 520 No. 2
128 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when he will receive the results of the Environmental Protection Agency investigation into possible contamination of Irish plantings and seed stores of rapeseed oil following the accidental contamination of large volumes of seed by a genetically modified variety of the crop distributed throughout Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15569/00]
130 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the discussions, if any, his Department or the Environmental Protection Agency have had with a United Kingdom seed importer and distributor (details supplied) in view of the recent contamination of rapeseed oil with a genetically modified crop; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15573/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 130 together.
Following the announcement by Advanta Seeds UK Limited on 17 May 2000 that some batches of seed of one of its non-genetically modified oilseed rape varieties had tested positive for a very low level of genetically modified rape, my Department requested the Environmental Protection Agency, in its capacity as competent authority for Council Directive 90/220/EEC on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms to the environment and in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, to review and report on the position in Ireland. That review is ongoing and I expect to have the agency's report as quickly as possible.
While my Department has had no contact with the seed company concerned, it has been advised by the EPA that, in the agency's initial contact with the company, the agency's understanding was that Ireland was unlikely to have been affected by the contaminated seed. As of now, that position is unchanged in terms of both the sale and cultivation of the seed on a commercial basis. However, EPA has indicated that on 26 May 2000, the agency learned from the seed company that 2kg of seed which originated from the stock now known to show traces of genetically modified material were supplied to an Irish seed company in 1998. This seed was submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development for variety trial purposes. I expect that the EPA's report, in the context of the agency's responsibilities for environmental protection, will address all relevant aspects of the use of this seed.
