65. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps being taken to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens and simplify regulatory compliance for farmers and agri-food businesses while maintaining Ireland's high environmental and food safety standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52235/26]

There is a broad consensus across Member States that farmers and food businesses need rules that are clear, proportionate and capable of being implemented effectively on the ground. Simplification is not about lowering standards, rather it is about achieving our objectives in a smarter, more practical and more coherent way.

A recent example of progress in this area is the Food and Feed Simplification Omnibus X, which was published by the European Commission in December 2025. This proposal is part of the cross-cutting legislative simplification packages announced in the European Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food. The aim of the package is to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens while maintaining high standards for food and feed safety, for human and animal health, and for environmental protection.

In particular, the initiative proposes targeted simplification measures in several areas:

• Faster procedures to give bio-control products market access;

• More targeted and efficient renewal procedures for pesticides and biocides;

• More targeted and efficient renewal procedures for feed additive authorisations;

• Digital labelling options for feed additives;

• Stronger import rules for pesticide residues, to ensure a level playing field;

• Simplified accreditation rules for official laboratories;

• More pragmatic approach to border controls for plant products;

• Adapted bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance and risk mitigation requirements.

Ireland will advance the simplification agenda as one of its priorities during our Presidency, with a focus on reducing unnecessary administrative burdens while maintaining high standards for food and feed safety, human and animal health, environmental protection and market surveillance.