220. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health for clarification on the Government's policy towards the farming of hemp, particularly in light of a number of cases of licensed hemp farmers being monitored and raided by An Garda Síochána; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3906/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Minister for Health: I would like to set out the legal status of cannabis and the cultivation of hemp.

Hemp is a plant of the genus Cannabis Sativa L, is a Schedule 1 controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs legislative framework and is subject to the strictest levels of control.

In the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (as amended) Cannabis" (except in "cannabis resin") means any plant of the genus Cannabis or any part of any such plant (by whatever name designated) but includes neither cannabis resin nor any of the following products after separation from the rest of any such plant, namely—

(a) mature stalk of any such plant,

(b) fibre produced from such mature stalk, or

(c) seed of any such plant

Therefore the stalk, fibre and seed of the hemp plant are not subject to control measures once removed from the plant. However the leaves and flower of the plant remain Schedule 1 controlled drugs. The most notable cannabinoids contained in the flower are Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive Schedule 1 controlled drug, and Cannabidiol (CBD) which is not a controlled drug.

Schedule 2 of S.I. No. 211/2022 - Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (Controlled Drugs) (Designation) Order 2022 (as amended by S.I. No. 237/2023 - Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (Controlled Drugs) (Designation) (Amendment) Order 2023) permits the:

“growing of hemp from seed varieties specified, by the Commission of the European Communities, as being eligible for the purposes of Article 1 of Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 ;subject to such licensing provision under the Act and the Regulations made thereunder as are applicable.”

The seed varieties referred to yield a plant that contains no more than 0.3% Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis and a Schedule 1 controlled drug. The licence to cultivate hemp does not permit access to the THC contained in the plant.

Licences may be issued for the cultivation of hemp by the Minister for Health pursuant to Section 14 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. The Health Products Regulatory Authority process licence applications for the Minister for Health and applicants must personally sign an undertaking that the controlled parts of the hemp plant, namely the leaves and flower, must not be processed or sold onwards (both offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977) and must be destroyed on cultivation.

In closing, it would be inappropriate for the Minister for Health to comment on operational matters of An Garda Síochána.

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Dáil Éireann debate. Question 205 – Agriculture industry [3907/25]

205. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for clarification on the Government's policy towards the farming of hemp, particularly in light of a number of cases of licensed hemp farmers being monitored and raided by An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3907/25]

Martin Heydon, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Current legislation in Ireland does not allow for the growing of hemp unless a specific license has been granted by the Health Products Regulatory Authority which operates under the auspices of the Department of Health.

In addition, the cultivation of hemp is restricted to varieties having less than 0.3% content of tetrahydrocannabinol. Cannabis (which includes hemp) is listed in schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017, as amended, which means it is subject to the strictest level of control. Issues relating to An Garda Síochána are not a matter for my Department.

The previous Programme for Government included a commitment to fully explore fibre crops such as hemp and consider whether these crops have a viable market. The report on this consultation was published in December 2022 and is available on www.gov.ie.

The overall outcome of that consultation was that the growing of fibre crops such as hemp for the purposes of fibre production only is not currently viable in Ireland. The report concluded that the scaling up of a crop fibre industry would be dependent on numerous factors including the development of stable markets, significant capital investment to increase processing capacity and collaboration with all stakeholders along the supply chain, all of which must be industry led.

Hemp is included as an eligible crop under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme.