Calls for the Government to specifically ban the production and sale of genetically modified produce through legislation before the Dáil, were rejected by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh.

He said that while he accepted the concerns of the Opposition, An Bord Bia (Amendment) Bill was not the appropriate way to deal with the issue. The Bill provides for the amalgamation of An Bord Bia and An Bord Glas.

The issue was raised by Sinn Féin's agriculture spokesman, Mr Martin Ferris, who said Britain intended to open its markets to genetically modified produce.

"That will be detrimental to the industry on this island in the long-term and to the status Irish produce enjoys internationally from a safety and production point of view." Starvation did not have anything to do with the production of genetically modified food, but with its distribution and control by multinational companies.

He said there should be a "push to create and promote GM-free zones on the island of Ireland".

The Green Party's spokesman, Mr Dan Boyle said his party opposed the Bill. "We do not believe the proposed amalgamation is necessary. We also believe the reasons for it put forward by the Government, are spurious." There was a need to maintain separate bodies, particularly Bord Glas to represent the "Cinderella" sectors of the market, particularly horticulture.

Supporting the Sinn Féin amendment to ban GM produce, Mr Boyle said the UK had conducted trials for several years on GM products and these were proving inconclusive. "I suspect they are inconclusive because they are not producing the results the Government seeks."

Mr Walsh said the issue of genetically modified food was a matter for the Food Safety Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Bill aimed to merge two agencies and the reasons for this was to give both organisations a "better opportunity to do a better job in promoting Irish food".