The Directive in question was transposed into Irish legislation in 2012 under Statutory Instrument 155 of 2012. The principle aim of these regulations is to achieve a more sustainable use of pesticides in both the farming and the amenity/landscaping sectors.
With regard to the "testing and use of agricultural sprayers", these regulations enable me to establish a register of "inspectors of pesticide application equipment" and make it a legal requirement for all pesticide application equipment in use, to be tested by a registered inspector by November 2016. The registered inspectors, when inspecting such equipment, shall apply the standards as set out in EN Standard 13790-1:2003 for Boom sprayers and EN Standard 13790-2:2003 for Orchard and Blast sprayers.
Officials in my Department are currently working on the mechanisms to facilitate this process and it is planned to have a coherent system in place by early 2014, allowing sufficient time for all sprayers to be tested by the timeline prescribed in the regulations.