madam president we are speaking in this chamber on the eve of a vote which is a critical one for agriculture health and environment
let us be very clear any one of us legislators who has identified and raised problem issues during this legislation process has done so out of concern for agriculture and future food supply
of course i am concerned about any overuse of pesticides and about their effects
there is no doubt that rates of cancer have increased
we have increased residues in our air water and food which affect our health and environment
also note it is our farmers who are in most direct contact with pesticides
the intention of this legislation which i applaud is to protect our citizens health and environment and agriculture
as legislators however we must always seek out balance and base legislation on sound science
we cannot and should not legislate in the abstract
by moving away from the commission's original scientific risk-based approach to a hazard-based one we fell at the first hurdle
without a relevant impact assessment which many of us requested repeatedly nobody can state exactly how many substances will be banned
ireland has a unique temperate but wet climate
this makes our potatoes and winter cereal crops susceptible to weeds and disease such as blight
the removal of an estimated twenty-two substances including mancozeb and opus will affect product availability
so following the introduction of this legislation in eighteen months time what is the view
pesticides which are already on the market under current legislation would remain available until their existing authorisation expires
if in ireland we can prove that a particular substance which should be withdrawn is necessary to combat a serious danger to plant health and that there is no safer substitute this substance may be approved for up to five years repeatedly despite the ban
in theory this may work
in practice we need to make this work
in the present climate we cannot afford to decrease eu food production and be less competitive in our market-leading potential
we need to push and urge industry to invest in alternative biologically sound products which are equally if not more effective
we have a precedent
we have all seen the case of the use of a non-chemical natural cheap and effective remedy spray used to protect white grapes worldwide
i welcome parliament's amendment which goes some way to protect bees which are crucial for farmers and food supplies through pollination
finally i would ask colleagues to support uen amendment one hundred and eighty-two and to reject the package amendment one hundred and sixty-nine
the commission the experts will come up with the proper scientific basis for endocrine disruptors in four years
we cannot prejudice this scientific assessment with a non-scientific-based definition
