STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 38 of 1999.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INTRODUCTION OF ORGANISMS HARMFUL TO PLANTS OR PLANT PRODUCTS) (PROHIBITION) (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS, 1999.

S.I. No. 38 of 1999.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INTRODUCTION OF ORGANISMS HARMFUL TO PLANTS OR PLANT PRODUCTS) (PROHIBITION) (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS, 1999.

I, JOE WALSH, 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 Commission Decision No. 95/506/EC of 24 November 1995⁽¹⁾ , as last amended by Commission Decision No. 98/738/EC of 9 December 1998⁽²⁾ , hereby make the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Introduction of Organisms Harmful to Plants or Plant Products) (Prohibition) (Temporary Provisions) Regulations, 1999.

(2) The European Communities (Introduction of Organisms Harmful to Plants or Plant Products) (Prohibition) Regulations, 1980 to 1998 and these Regulations may be cited together as the European Communities (Introduction of Organisms Harmful to Plants or Plants Products) (Prohibition) Regulations, 1980 to 1999.

2. (1) In these Regulations, “the Principal Regulations” means the European Communities (Introduction of Organisms Harmful to Plants or Plant Products) (Prohibition) Regulations, 1980 (S.I. 125 of 1980).

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in Council Directive No. 77/93/EEC of 21 December, 1976, as amended, has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in that Directive.

3. The provisions of Regulations 15, 16 and 17 of the Principal Regulations shall apply to these Regulations as if:

in the said Regulations 15, 16 and 17, the references to “these Regulations” (being the Principal Regulations) included a reference to Regulations 4 and 5 of these Regulations.

4. A person shall not introduce into the State, or move within the State, potato tubers originating in the Netherlands unless they comply with the conditions of Article 1 of Commission Decision No. 95/506/EC.

5. Without prejudice to the provisions of Regulation 4 of these Regulations, any person who intends to introduce into the State potatoes which have originated in the Netherlands shall

(1) notify the Department of Agriculture and Food in writing at least two days in advance of the proposed date of introduction, giving full particulars (including the proposed point and date of entry and the intended use) of each consignment, and

(2) in the case of seed potatoes, shall not move the consignment (or any part thereof) within the State until the consignment has been certified by an authorised person as having been officially tested and found free from Pseudomonas solanacearum (otherwise known as Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al.) and,

(3) in the case of ware potatoes for human consumption and/or for animal fodder, shall not move the consignment (or any part thereof) within the State until the consignment has been certified by an authorised person as having been officially tested and found free from Pseudomonas solanacearum and

(4) in the case of potatoes for industrial processing, shall not move the consignment (or any part thereof) into or within the State unless the facility intended for the processing has been approved in advance by the Department of Agriculture and Food for the treatment and disposal of waste.

6. Regulation 4 and Regulation 5 of these Regulations shall cease to have effect on 20 August, 1999.

7. Any person who contravenes Regulations 4 or 5 of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

8. An offence under these Regulation may be prosecuted by the Minister for Agriculture and Food.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

The Regulations prohibit the introduction into the State of potatoes originating in the Netherlands which do not meet the requirements of Commission Decision No. 95/506/EC, as amended, in relation to brown rot disease. Prospective importers of potatoes originating in the Netherlands, must give advance notice of consignments to the Department of Agriculture and Food and the potatoes must be officially sampled and found free of brown rot disease, before being moved within the State.

⁽¹⁾ O.J. L. 291 of 6.12.95

⁽²⁾ O.J. L. 354 of 30.12.98