How will this officer be recruited?
Plant Varieties (Proprietary Rights) Bill, 1979: Committee and Final Stages.
Sections 1 and 2 agreed to.
SECTION 3.
Question proposed: "That section 3 stand part of the Bill".
The office of Controller of Plant Breeders' Rights with responsibility for administration and various provisions of the Bill, will be under the Minister's general direction.
He will be under the Ministerial general direction.
The controller may or may not be an officer of the Minister.
How will he be recruited or appointed?
By the Minister.
Will it be through the Civil Service Commission?
No.
What qualifications will the Minister look for?
It is admitted that he will be a serving officer in the Plant Section of the Department.
I see.
Question put and agreed to.
Sections 4 to 28, inclusive, agreed to.
First and Second Schedules agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Bill reported without amendment and received for final consideration.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass".
A matter regarding the species of plants has come to my notice in a practical sort of way, that is, that defects have been evident in the facility which seed merchants were able to afford to farmers in the area of the assembly of seeds and of mixtures for grassland.
Since the advent of the EEC scheme concerning the specialising in seeds, it has not been possible for a farmer to buy a number of mixtures of clovers, perennial, Italian or other particular grass seeds which were necessary for a special kind of pasture land. In the circumstances it was found that where a farmer wanted to utilise a mixture of seeds he had to breed larger passages of the particular varieties but that one or two varieties were not obtainable. This led to widespread disappointment among the farming community and whether it is going to be a feature of the system of grass production control in the future is a question that we would view with very considerable concern.
There is a particular cabbage that is grown extensively in this country and the seed of which has been very easy to obtain but I am informed by seed merchants that they have not been able to obtain seeds of this species during the past two or three years. It is a matter of concern that some of the varieties of seeds that have been propagated in this country and which may not have been extensively produced at some of our own research institutions and that some of the species that were produced in Wales and in other European countries may not have been registered and, consequently, not promoted. Some of the British seed users had been very concerned about the circumstances where original seeds that for many years had been produced and regarded in high esteem in Britain were not being classified under the EEC schemes. Similarly, something like that may happen in Ireland.
Therefore, it is important that the Government would be in a position to ensure that although something has not been registered at this stage in the classification of pedigree seeds, they would reclaim the right to so classify them in terms of this Act in the future. I would not want to say that the circumstances that the Government may find themselves in would be something of a straitjacket but the legislation is something of an EEC imposition on the Nine and, consequently, it may be binding to the extent of excluding some varieties of seeds that are very important to retain and which have a characteristic that is especially suitable to this country and to its climate. I would be very anxious that the Department of Agriculture would take steps to ensure that they have the right to propagate or to provide to farmers these particular species of seeds when the time for the completion of the scheme is fully arrived at. So that there will not be any question of shutting a door completely against the opportunity of getting back to the seeds and particular varieties that were so necessary in this country and which were promoted down through generations.
Some of the matters raised by the Senator are not relevant to the Bill but now that he has raised them it might be opportune to refer to them. The position down through the years has been that, in so far as grass-seed mixtures are concerned, they are made up under supervision of officers of the Department in one acre packs. This is the first complaint I have heard of certain mixtures not being made available but so far as I am aware, it is true to say also that one can buy the various varieties of grass seeds and mix them oneself.
To my knowledge grass mixtures vary from county to county. They are basically drawn up by merchants on the advice of the county committees of agriculture in a lot of instances. This is a good thing because what may be good for one county may not be good for another. This is the situation and a lot of the merchants take the advice of agricultural officers within the county. That has nothing really to do with this particular Bill.
Prior to EEC membership many seed firms in the United Kingdom marketed the seed of vegetable varieties under their own brand names. In consequence seed of the same variety were sold in various parts of the country under different names. The nationalised system in the United Kingdom means in effect that varieties are being properly classified although the variety itself remains on the market under a single and correct variety name.
If the Senator has in mind any particular varieties and if he brings the matter to my notice I certainly will have the matter looked into and possibly will be in a position to communicate with him and give him the Department's version on the matter. At the moment I have not got the information, but if the Senator gives me the information I will see what we can do to have the matter rectified?
Question put and agreed to.
There has been agreement to sit later than 5 p.m. and therefore the Chair must refix the time for the taking of Senator Connaughton's motion on the Adjournment. That matter will now be taken after the conclusion of item No. 2. Is that agreeable?
Senators
Agreed.