The future availability of glyphosate products such as Roundup to Irish and European farmers is hanging in the balance following a key vote in Brussels.

A European Commission proposal to renew the licence for glyphosate products for 10 years failed to receive qualified majority backing from the standing committee on plants, food and feed (SCOPAFF).

Ireland voted for the renewal of the licence for glyphosate.

The Commission proposal will now go to a meeting of the appeals committee in the first half of November.

A decision on the renewal of glyphosate needs to be taken by 14 December this year, as the product’s current approval expires on 15 December.

'Very concerning'

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, which is used primarily by tillage farmers, but also by thousands of grassland farmers.

Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) national grain chair Kieran McEvoy described the outcome of the SCOPAFF vote as “very concerning for EU agriculture”.

“The European Food Safety Authority has identified no critical areas of concern with products containing glyphosate.

"It is positive to see that Ireland followed the conclusions of the assessment, but disappointing that other member states appear unwilling to fully accept the scientific evidence on glyphosate,” McEvoy said.

“Access to glyphosate products is critical for the continued future transition of Irish agriculture to a more sustainable model.

"Increased utilisation of cover crops, greater use of multi-species swards and reduced tillage establishment methods are simply not possible without glyphosate herbicides,” he maintained.

McEvoy said that the IFA planned to meet with Department of Agriculture officials to discuss the implications of the EU vote.

However, the use of glyphosate is widely opposed by environmentalists, who claim that its approval would breach the EU pesticide law, under which health and environmental concerns override commercial considerations.