Biotechnology, including the development of GM food products, is a key sector to the Irish economy, and needs to be fully embraced if Ireland is to continue to be competitive, an industry representative told the debate.
Mr Matt Moran, director of the Irish Bioindustry Association, said biotech industry was essentially "knowledge-intensive - relying on brain power which this country has plenty of".
Biotechnology was a part of the fabric of food/drink, pharmaceutical, chemical, healthcare and environmental industry, worth £13 billion a year to the economy. In any event, these sectors were already using biotech processes not only for their own purposes but for considerable public benefit.
Bioindustry, Mr Moran said, totally favoured responsible regulation, but regulation which was based on sound science.
Dr Patrick O'Reilly, business manager of Monsanto Ireland, said that contrary to widespread belief, GM products "do not come onto the market willy-nilly". There was a strict regulatory process, he added.
Europe, Dr O'Reilly accepted, was in "the post BSE-era" where there was a lack of public trust in regulatory processes.
A Monsanto spokesman confirmed yesterday it had never made a political donation to Fianna Fail or any other party in Ireland.
