Ireland will be forced to accept genetically modified (GM) crops and foods after new EU regulations come into effect early next year.
Any foods or crops that clear safety controls and the regulations will have to be made available here, ruling out the possibility of Ireland becoming a "GM-free" zone.
The EU has applied a de facto moratorium on any new GM product approvals since June 1999.
This moratorium is likely to be broken next week, however, with the expected approval under the existing EU Novel Food Regulation for a sweet corn variety from Syngenta known as BT11.
This variety would become the first GM product to clear the EU's approval system since March 1998 and bring an end to the moratorium, according to a source in the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate, headed by Irish Commissioner Mr David Byrne.
The pace of requests for new GM crop and food applications is also likely to increase, given the new regulations. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) last night cleared as safe a GM maize variety, NK 603, produced by the giant US company, Monsanto. The maize will now go forward under the existing Novel Food Regulation for approval by member-states.