Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The question continues as to why it had not been included in the first range of issues. We have a particular interest in the food industry because Ireland is a net food exporter. How can we be assured that further stages in the negotiations do not erode the position of food industry exports which are of significant importance to our economy? I refer to previous experiences in transatlantic negotiations when, after the event, the food sector was used in a trade-off against other products from Europe, such as cars from Germany, Italy, France, Spain, at the cost of the food sector throughout Europe. What countries are represented on the EU negotiating team? The Minister has indicated that the team is comprised of EU officials at this stage. Where do they come from? They did not just pop out of the EU without having a background from a member country. Could the team members be all from a single member state or from two countries? Which might those countries be? Could their nationality have any impact on the outcome of the discussions?

The Minister made a number of references to the stakeholders.

I presume these stakeholders are representative of industry on both sides of the Atlantic. To what extent has it been ascertained what these stakeholders are representing? Do they represent the national interest, the European interest or a combination of both? I would like to know a little more about the breakdown in this regard.

In respect of market access, all of this is of course to no avail unless it is a two-way process, that is, market access must work in both directions in all sorts of situations. To what extent have the negotiations thus far indicated that such market access will be honoured in the spirit as well as the letter? When will we see the benefits therefrom? My final point pertains to regulation. Regulations are the famous apparatus people can use to undermine or prevent an agreement. Regulations can make an agreement impossible to operate or can include or exclude some parts of the agreement already entered into, depending on what they are. Is the Minister satisfied that the tangent of the negotiations to date indicates in a meaningful way a recognition of the need to ensure that member states throughout the European Union, without exception, will benefit from the negotiations and have equal access to the market? Alternatively, do the negotiations indicate whether one or more influential states within the Union are likely to be the greater beneficiaries?