S.I. No. 19/1973:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SEEDS OF PERENNIAL RYEGRASS AND CEREALS) REGULATIONS, 1973.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SEEDS OF PERENNIAL RYEGRASS AND CEREALS) REGULATIONS, 1973.

I, JAMES GIBBONS, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Seeds of Perennial Ryegrass and Cereals) Regulations, 1973, and shall come into operation on the 1st day of February, 1973.

2. In these Regulations--

"authorised officer" means an officer of the Minister authorised in writing by the Minister for the purposes of these Regulations;

"basic seed", "certified seed" and "commercial seed" have each respectively the meaning specified in the relevant scheduled directive;

"cereal seeds" means seeds of oats, barley or wheat;

"Common Catalogue" means the Common Catalogue of varieties of species of agricultural plants referred to in the scheduled directive mentioned at reference number 6 in the Schedule to the European Communities (National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties) Regulations, 1972 ( S.I. No. 339 of 1972 );

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries;

"pre-basic seed" means seed of generations anterior to basic seed;

"scheduled directive" means a Council directive specified in the Schedule to the European Communities (National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties) Regulations, 1972;

any reference to sale includes a reference to barter, offer or expose for sale and invitation to buy.

3. (1) Perennial ryegrass seeds shall not be sold unless--

( a ) either--

(i) in the case of seeds produced in a member State, they have been certified in accordance with the scheduled directives by the Minister or any other official certifying authority of a member State as pre-basic seeds, basic seeds, certified seeds or commercial seeds and fulfil the conditions specified for such seeds in the scheduled directives, or

(ii) in the case of seeds produced in third countries, they are of a kind accepted by the Minister or the Council of the European Communities as being equivalent to certified pre-basic, basic or certified seeds of Community origin, and

( b ) they are sold--

(i) in homogeneous batches in accordance with the scheduled directives, and

(ii) in packages which are sealed, marked and labelled in accordance with the scheduled directives and which contain on the inside, where required by the directives, an official notice containing markings specified in the directives, and

( c ) they are seeds of--

(i) a variety registered in the National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties,

(ii) a variety to which a determination under Regulation 3 (4) of the European Communities (National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties) Regulations, 1972, relates, or

(iii) a variety registered in the Common Catalogue in respect of which no marketing restriction exists under Article 15 of the scheduled directive mentioned at reference number 6 in the Schedule to those Regulations.

(2) A person who contravenes this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200.

4. (1) Cereal seeds shall not be sold unless they comply with the requirements indicated in the Schedule to these Regulations.

(2) A person who contravenes this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200.

5. (1) A person shall not engage in assembly, processing or storage of cereal seeds save in premises (including plant and facilities) approved of by the Minister.

(2) A person who contravenes this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200.

6. (1) A person who carries on the business of selling perennial ryegrass seeds or cereal seeds shall--

( a ) keep records of his transactions in such seeds,

( b ) produce at the request of an authorised officer any such records or any books, documents or other records relating to the business which are in the possession of such person, permit the officer to inspect and take extracts from such books, documents or records and give to the officer any information which he may reasonably require in relation to any entries therein,

( c ) afford to an authorised officer reasonable facilities for the inspection, sampling and taking stock of any such seeds on any premises on which such person carries on the business,

( d ) give to an authorised officer any information which he may reasonably require in relation to such transactions.

(2) A person who contravenes this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

7. (1) An authorised officer may at any reasonable time enter and inspect any premises, railway wagon, vehicle, ship, vessel or aircraft in which he has reasonable grounds for believing that perennial ryegrass seeds or cereals seeds are kept, and may examine and take samples and stock of any such seeds which he finds in the course of his inspection.

(2) Any person who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer in the course of exercising a power conferred on him under this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

(3) The Minister shall furnish an authorised officer with a certificate of his appointment and, when exercising any powers conferred by these Regulations, the officer shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the certificate to that person.

8. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister.

9. (1) There shall be charged such fees in respect of services performed by the Minister or an officer of the Minister in connection with matters to which these Regulations relate as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.

(2) Fees under these Regulations shall be collected and taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of that Minister.

(3) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879 (1879, c. 58) shall not apply in respect of fees under these Regulations.

Regulation 4.

SCHEDULE.

CEREAL SEED REQUIREMENTS.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 25th day of January, 1973.

JAMES GIBBONS,

Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Regulations provide as follows :

(1) that perennial ryegrass seeds may not be sold in Ireland unless they are certified seeds of varieties in the National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties;

(2) that seeds of oats, barley or wheat may not be sold unless they comply with prescribed standards;

(3) that the premises of persons engaged in the assembly, processing or storage of seeds of oats, barley or wheat must be approved by the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.