Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Very few people comprehend what is going on or that a small handful of people behind closed doors make these decisions. I recall that at the end of 1996 I was involved in these trade talks in Singapore on behalf of the European Community.

This issue opens a much broader social and moral question about how much we value the need to have a domestic food sector here the quality and safety of which we can be assured. When we put profit before quality, we threaten our food supply and bio-security. These reforms will open the floodgates in Europe to a significantly increased market from, for example, Brazil, whose produce is often of a lesser standard and quality than we would employ. This must remain a source of concern to us. The public must face up to the debate on whether we want food to come from factory farms or hypermarkets, where consumers cannot be assured of traceability, origins or standards of production. We cannot allow imported food products such as beef that does not satisfy the same high standards we demand of our farmers to be sold in Irish retail outfits.

This is an issue of social and moral consequence. Consumers must be assured that the food they consume is of the highest standard. The current proposals will weaken bio-security and the safety of food for all consumers. Does the Taoiseach share my view that the European Commission needs to revisit these proposals, that if it does not, the proposals will decimate Irish farming and expose the consumer to food production practices of doubtful quality and lower safety standards than we have and if implemented, will introduce a regime of cheap food policy? The Government should declare its position openly and clearly.

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