S.I. No. 217/1987:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (CEREAL SEED) REGULATIONS 1987.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (CEREAL SEED) REGULATIONS 1987.

I, MICHAEL O'KENNEDY, Minister for Agriculture and Food, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 66/402/EEC of 14 June, 1966¹, as amended, hereby make the following Regulations:

¹ OJ No. 125/2309, 11 July, 1966.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Cereal Seed) Regulations, 1987.

(2) The European Communities (Cereal Seed) Regulations, 1981 to 1985, and these Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Cereal Seed) Regulations, 1981 to 1987.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1 day of September, 1987.

3. The European Communities (Cereal Seed) Regulations, 1981 ( S.I. No. 48 of 1981 ), are hereby amended by the insertion after Regulation 4 of the following Regulation:--

"Restriction on Import

4A (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this Regulation, cereal seed shall not be imported unless--

( a ) the seed is a variety which is,

(i) a variety registered in the national catalogue, or

(ii) a variety registered in the common catalogue and as regards which there is not in that catalogue an entry indicating that a prohibition on the marketing of the variety in the State has been authorised and is in force, and

( b ) it has been officially certified as pre-basic seed, basic seed, certified seed or certified seed of the first generation and it satisfies the conditions laid down in Annex II, and

( c ) the moisture content of the seed does not exceed 16% and the seed is in sufficiently homogenous lots and in packages complying with the requirements of these Regulations, and

( d ) each lot of seed is accompanied by an official certificate issued by an official authority in the country or territory where the seed was certified certifying that,

(i) a sample of the seed has been taken and examined in accordance with Regulation 7 of these Regulations and that the sample has been found to be free of the seed of Avena fatua, and

(ii) where required by the said Regulation 7, a field inspection has been carried out in accordance with the said Regulation and that the relevant crop has been found to be free of Avena fatua, and

( e ) in case the seed is harvested in a third country, it is of a kind to which the declaration contained in Article 1 of the Sixth Council Decision on the Equivalence of Seed Produced in Third Countries (OJ No. L240 of 12 September, 1980) relates.

(2) ( a ) The requirements of paragraph (1) of these Regulations shall not apply to the following cereal seed, namely:

(i) seed intended for tests or scientific purposes,

(ii) seed intended for selection work,

(iii) seed which has not been processed and which is imported for processing and as regards which the official authority is satisfied that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure the identity of the seed.

( b ) Notwithstanding subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1) of this Regulation, seed of maize may be imported if the minimum germination of the seeds equals or exceeds 85%.

( c ) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of this Regulation, the Minister may for such period as he shall specify authorise the importation (in accordance with the other provisions of that paragraph and, where appropriate, the provision of subparagraph (b) of this paragraph) of seed of a variety which is not registered in the national catalogue or in the common catalogue but which is registered in a catalogue of a Member State which corresponds to the national catalogue."

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 19, day of August, 1987.

MICHAEL O'KENNEDY,

Minister for Agriculture and

Food.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations ban the importation of cereal seed of the second generation from 1 September 1987. Marketing of cereal seed of the second generation was prohibited from 1 January 1986 under previous Regulations.