Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for their contributions. Mr. Scott spoke about the European Parliament and about how its Members were not really consulted. Decisions were taken that did not come through elected representatives. Who is really pushing this? We all have pharmacies we use, whether for agriculture or health, and pharmacists are very responsible people. They ask questions and they know the farmers or the people involved. My big worry is who will monitor the cross-Border trade. That will be our biggest form of trade in the coming years because people are willing and able. They are at it already in respect of other products and this will be only a new product to them. It will be a bit like cigarettes. We tried to price them out of this country, but thousands of them are caught every week in this country, at Dublin Airport or Dublin Port, where they are brought in. There will always be a means of getting it done illegally if people feel they can get a product more cheaply in Northern Ireland or England. This would be a very serious mistake for co-operatives, pharmacies, rural Ireland and farmers.

I come from Mayo, where vets are very scarce on the ground and difficult to get. They are very busy people and I would be surprised if they are the ones who are seeking this monopoly. I hope they are not. I want to see small traders. In this country, with Dublin thinking, and in Europe, they always want to get rid of small businesses and I do not know why. They always want to get rid of businesses. It is a bit like the lockdown. The multinationals have not been affected, and the likes of Dunnes Stores, Tesco and so on have all been let open. They have not been hurt, while the small, family businesses in this country are the ones that have been affected again.

I am totally opposed to this. Who will make the final decision here? Is legislation needed? Will this come through the Dáil? Who will make the final decision as to whether legislation is needed? I believe it should be left as it is. The few co-operatives and small pharmacies that are trying to make a living and to employ people in rural Ireland should be left alone. Deputy Carthy was a Member of the European Parliament for a good few years. The people in the EU spend their time there every day, from Sunday to Sunday, thinking about how, when they get up on Monday morning, they can hurt someone who is trying to make a living in Europe. It really upsets me at times the way they think and operate and the fact that they want all the big multinationals and operators to take over small businesses. It is wrong and it should not happen.