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Maree Gallagher

Maree Gallagher is an Irish qualified solicitor who advises clients on EU food and life sciences law and policy. She has been elected President of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce for 2022/2023.

Maree has over twenty years of experience working with companies to bring their products to market. She is regarded as one of Europe's leading crisis management experts and has extensive experience advising FMCG companies on product recall and reputation management across the EU.

Maree’s expertise covers drugs and devices with a particular emphasis on biologics and GxP, food and beverages, AGRI, and consumer products. Her practice covers a very wide spectrum from product licensing to composition, labelling, and marketing. Her clients include large public companies as well as multinationals operating in the Life Sciences and FMCG sector across Ireland and the EU. Chambers Global listed Maree as a "Notable Practitioner" in their 2021 Guide to Crisis & Risk Management.

Maree also represents businesses facing regulatory enforcement action and she acts as a strategic and public affairs adviser in her specialist areas.

Our December blog, examined the optimism at the end of last year that a way could be found out of the political deadlock that has paralysed the Northern Ireland Assembly for the last two years. As our blog noted, although those hopes did not materialize, the fact that the discussions had reached such an advanced stage suggested that a solution might be found in the New Year.  The announcement by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on 30 January that a Deal had been reached seems to justify that optimism.

A Historical Recap

The 1998 Belfast Good Friday Agreement (GFA) brought an end to 30 years of ‘The Troubles’.  It struck a delicate balance between the competing interests of the Unionist and Nationalist communities in Northern Ireland.  Key to its success was the removal of border infrastructure between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and the creation of a Power Sharing Executive (PSE) for Northern Ireland.  The PSE allocates the position of First Minister to the largest political party in Northern Ireland, and the position of Deputy First Minister to the second largest.  Other than the status implied by the titles, there is very little practical difference between the two roles.

Northern Ireland’s parliament, the Stormont Assembly, only actually sat for any extended period of time between 2007-2017, but, until the last set of elections, the DUP had always held the position of First Minister.

Brexit and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland voted by 56:44 to remain in the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum.  The Unionist community largely voted ‘Leave’, believing it would consolidate Northern Ireland’s position within the UK; the Nationalist community generally voted ‘Remain’ for the opposite reason. Continue Reading The DUP and The Deal: Power-Sharing Returns to N Ireland

Over the past months, the Government has regularly  posted technical guidance notices on what it calls a “no deal” Brexit, i.e., a scenario in which the UK and the EU will not reach an agreement and the UK will become a third country on 29 March 2019.  The UK Government has now published four notices addressed specifically to UK food and beverage producers outlining its plans for a no-deal Brexit.  The notices emphasise that the Government believes a no-deal scenario is unlikely, and essentially summarise the Government’s policy decision on certain key issues.  Key areas covered by the notices include geographical indications, food labelling and exports of food containing ingredients of animal origin.  These are discussed further below.

Geographical indications (“GIs”)

The Government indicates that it is keen to protect UK products that benefit from a GI, and if no agreement is reached then it intends to set up its own GI scheme.  The Government argues that it will “broadly mirror the EU regime and be no more burdensome to producers”.  Businesses will have to wait until early 2019 for detailed guidance on what it will involve, but the notice confirms the following:

  • The scheme will be compliant with the World Trade Organisation (“WTO”) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”).
  • All 86 UK GIs currently protected under the EU scheme will automatically be given new UK GI status.
  • The UK would not have to recognise EU GI status anymore.

Producers will need to adjust product packaging/labelling to include the new UK GI logo.

It is unclear whether, following a no-deal Brexit, current UK GIs would still be protected under the EU regime.  The UK Government assumes that existing UK GIs “will continue to be protected by the EU’s GI schemes”, but this is not guaranteed.  If current UK GIs are not protected under the EU regime after 29 March 2019, then UK producers wishing to regain EU GI status will need to submit applications to the European Commission as third country producers.  The notice also highlights that companies should consider applying for EU Collective Marks or EU Certification Marks through the EU Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”) or the World International Property Organisation (“WIPO”).

The Government has recently launched a consultation for its proposed GI scheme. Responses may be submitted until 1 November 2018 on the DEFRA website.

Food labelling

The Government’s no-deal Brexit notice on food labelling raises two main issues.

First, labels on products manufactured in the UK would no longer fall within the scope of “EU” as a descriptor of origin.  This applies to both products sold in the UK and the EU.
Continue Reading UK Government Issues “No Deal” Brexit Notices for the Food & Beverage Sector