Ollie Wilkinson (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

While the legislative process is being completed, the representative bodies for hotels, restaurants and pubs have agreed to recommend to their members to provide information on a voluntary basis. The next step will be to extend the process of labelling of country of origin to other meats, primarily poultry meat, pigmeat and sheep meat at retail and catering level. Because of different traceability systems, and some import-export complexities, it would not be as straightforward for other meats as it is for beef, and EU approval has not yet been given for this in any other member state.

The Minister for Agriculture and Food is certainly representing farmers well, both at home and abroad. I have no problem supporting the amendment to the motion.

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