madam president i would like to thank those who worked on these two important reports
one would imagine from the contributions of some here this evening that the eu had absolutely no control currently on the marketing and use of these chemicals we do we have strict rules at the moment and indeed rules on residues and food
so i bow to neither side nor extreme of this debate this evening particularly those who fail to see the need for plant protection products in food production and those who say that these two pieces of legislation are a disaster for farming and the food production in europe
i am a bit concerned about the comments of commissioner dimas when he says that people are worried about pesticides
yes that may be the case but the question is how justified are these worries
what have you done as the commission to point out to consumers that the vast bulk of our food is produced using products to give us quality safe food
yes some ingredients used in chemicals are very hazardous but the risks of using them depend on how they are used and depend on compliance with maximum residue levels mrls in our food
as far as i am concerned those who use them are well-trained in my experience and we need perhaps to step up the training in other member states
twenty-two substances are on the way out in ireland and the uk there are huge concerns about cereal production and potatoes
the questions are will the agrochemical industry respond and produce new products
the commission does not have the answer to that question
will the derogations work
what happens if there are no alternatives
i think that that needs to be addressed because we in ireland want to continue producing cereals and potatoes
the question of imported food is a very real one and i beg for five seconds extra on it
if the commission would work with eu food producers on this we could make progress
it is just not tenable that the commission can sit here and say that we will ban the use of substances in europe but that those outside the european union can continue to send us food using those substances
it is not a competitive position it is not tenable and i ask you to address it here this evening
