212. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of people who have undertaken the mandated health and safety course, by county, since the introduction of the Sustainable Use Directive governing the application of pesticides; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30025/24]

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for the implementation of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive 2009/128/EC which specifies various measures to reduce risks to human health and the environment from pesticide use. These measures include requirements for training and certification of professional users of pesticides.

A professional user is any person who applies/sprays professional use plant protection products. This includes operators, technicians, employees, and self-employed people, both in farming and other sectors. Only a Department registered professional user can apply plant protection products that are authorised for professional use.

Before becoming registered as a professional user, it is a statutory requirement for the person to have a minimum level of training and this is achieved by completing a suitable course which is recognised by my Department. The list of such qualifications is available on the website:

www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/sud/professionaluserssprayeroperators/training/

To date, over 38,000 people have completed an appropriate training course and are registered as a professional user. The details by county are outlined below.