An Irish Perspective on the EU Biocide Regulation
An Irish Perspective on the EU Biocide Regulation
In February, Kerona Scientific hosted a two-day virtual Biocides Symposium. Donal Lynch, Head of Biocides Registrations at the Pesticide Registration and Control Divisions (PRCD) in Ireland, opened the symposium with a presentation that explained how the EU biocide regulations have developed historically, how the Irish Department of Agriculture has internally adapted to these changes, and what challenges lie ahead for both the Irish Ministry and the EU.
Donal presented how the EU moved from local national rules in every country to a unified regulation, discussed some improvements that were adopted and the path that still needs to be followed to improve the functioning of biocidal products in the EU, while ensuring a high level of protection for humans and the environment, such as the harmonization of the market at “Union level”, simplification of approval of active substances and authorization of biocidal products, and introducing timelines for MS evaluations, opinion-forming, and decision-making.
Regarding the Irish market, within just over 20 years, the number of biocide products has grown from 0 to 4,500 and in the last year alone the PRCD processed over 1000 applications. The COVID-19 pandemic did have a bearing on the number of applications, as many applications for hand sanitisers and surface disinfectants were processed.
Thus, both at the EU and Irish national levels, some challenges need to be overcome to achieve more efficiency and quality in the adoption of BPR. At the moment, some of the challenges presented by Donal that both are facing is the increasing workload, also caused by Brexit, since the UK played a big role in sharing it, poorly compiled dossiers and submissions, lack of resources at MS level, and lack of guidance and delays in development.
You can download the slides of Donal’s presentation form our website at https://kerona.es/product/dublin-biocides-symposium-2022-prcd-presentations/
If you need help with your Biocides regulatory matters, please contact the Kerona team at info@kerona.ie