Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
1318. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has been made aware of the concerns of many farmers in relation to the introduction of a national fertiliser database; if an extension of the timeframe is planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38723/23]
View answerThe Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023 was signed into law in mid-July 2023 and the provisions relating to the registration of Professional Fertiliser End Users and Fertiliser Economic Operators came into effect on 1 September. It is a requirement under the legislation, inter alia, to be registered on the Department’s National Fertiliser Database in order to sell or purchase fertiliser in Ireland.
My Department has engaged with stakeholders at all stages of the development and rollout of the National Fertiliser Database (NFD). Significant efforts have been made to ensure that registration on the NFD is a very straightforward and simple process whereby farmers, or their agents, can register using www.agfood.ie.
Whilst many farmers will not purchase fertiliser at this time of year, there has been exceptionally strong level of farmer and other Professional Fertiliser End User registrations on the National Fertiliser Database. I am extremely pleased to note that as of the 5th of September over 96,000 farmers have registered for the Database. There are no plans to extend the timeframes under the legislation.
