Mr. Kevin Kinsella:

I want to answer the question on an all-Ireland policy. We need to step back from that a little and appreciate and understand that we have a single EU market already or at least, we are meant to have one. That involves the free transport, movement and sale of agricultural and all other produce across Europe.

We export 60,000 live animals to Italy every year. They go on to an Italian feed lot, are processed in an Italian meat plant and go on to a supermarket shelf there. Likewise, we do the same with Holland, Spain and several other EU countries. There is no problem with this. The correct EU identification labels are used which state the animal was born in Ireland but fattened and processed in Italy. There is no problem with this for Italian consumers because it is applied properly in an open European Single Market. Why can we not do the same in the UK? That is the issue the Minister must address. Artificial blockages to that market have been put in place. It is not about whether we have an all-Ireland policy or agreements with France or Belgium. It is about the operation of the Single Market. If a market access issue is preventing Irish farmers and exporters entering the UK market, then it is the responsibility of the Minister to correct it.