Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to pick up on the comment made by Mr. Ray Doyle on labelling. I know that other speakers have also raised the matter but I want to specifically pick up on his comment about nomad cattle. He is correct that labelling is a significant part of the problem. Can he explain how the EU allows the issue of nomad cattle to arise, cattle that are not Irish or British, yet allows chicken fillets to be flown in from Thailand, covered in breadcrumbs and labelled as an Irish or British product? The law is an ass in terms of food labelling because a gross contradiction has been allowed to take place for two completely different types of product.

I have a related question. Mr. Bryan was right, it would help the situation if the President, Michael D. Higgins, and the Queen of England sat down to enjoy a couple of striploin steaks. Building stronger relationships is important but there is an issue closer to home.

If we were to have an all-island animal health regime, it would not make a difference whether the animal was born in Armagh or Roscommon when it was taken across the Irish Sea and placed on supermarket shelves in the United Kingdom. That is the way to get around this problem, through closer North-South co-operation and an all-island animal health regime.