Vol. 520 No. 2
86 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if a United Kingdom seed importer and distributor (details supplied) distributes seed in Ireland; if so, the type of seed it distributes; the discussions, if any, his Department has had with the company in view of the recent contamination of rapeseed oil with a genetically modified crop; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15572/00]
I understand that the UK company concerned supplies commercial quantities of several species of agricultural seeds to the Irish market. Distribution of these seeds is by registered Irish seed merchants. Only seed which has been certified and entered into the national catalogue or the EU common catalogue of agricultural plant varieties may be imported for use in this country.
A small quantity, 2 kilograms, of the seed was submitted to my Department in 1997-98 for field trials for the purpose of national listing. These trials were undertaken on two sites farmed by my Department. Following the conclusion of the trials the variety in question was not entered on the national catalogue and no further applications were received for evaluation of the seed variety in question. There is no evidence to suggest that any of this seed variety was imported for commercial use here.
