State is drafting guidelines on genetic research, says Taoiseach

A national draft policy on genetically modified products will be available within weeks, according to the Department of the Environment which is preparing the draft for the Minister, Mr Dempsey.

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, referred to the document at the formal opening yesterday of the new £12 million genetics research institute at Trinity College Dublin. It would be a policy position on the environmental aspects of modern biotechnology, Mr Ahern said, and was a recognition of the "increasing public awareness and concern which I hear on a weekly basis regarding genetically modified products".

It would be a discussion document, according to a spokeswoman at the department. A final Government position would then be taken in the light of the issues raised.

Mr Ahern was the keynote speaker at the opening of the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, which adds 6,000 square metres of advanced teaching and research laboratories to the genetics faculty. Praising the research work under way at Trinity, the Taoiseach said that Ireland would not be able to maintain current growth rates "if we do not continue to invest in education and technology".

The Provost, Dr Thomas Mitchell, described the new genetics building as "the completion in another step in the largest redevelopment and expansion of Trinity since the 18th century".

The new institute attracted substantial funding from the private sector including £2 million from Dr Michael Smurfit, £2.3 million from the UK-based Wellcome Trust, £1 million from Dr Martin Naughton and a £2 million contribution from an unnamed US philanthropist. The Government provided a grant of £4.8 million.

Yesterday's opening also marked the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the Department of Genetics in 1958 by Prof George Dawson. At that time it was assisted by a three-year, £3,000 annual grant from Comhlucht Siucra Eireann Teo, which prompted the Taoiseach to comment that he doubted whether "the Provost would thank me if I tried to get away with that" today.

The opening is part of four days of events to mark the department's 40th anniversary. Tomorrow a public symposium on genetics and the 21st century will be held at the Point Theatre in Dublin.

Speakers include the creator of Dolly the cloned sheep, Dr Ian Wilmut, Baroness Mary Warnock, Mr Rockne Harmon, a prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson case, and Prof Roger Beachy, a leading plant biotechnologist.