Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

I am merely pointing out the source of my information, which I received from Dr. Rao. This doctor received an invitation from Safefood, as did other doctors of foreign extraction including Chinese and Japanese. The invitation was framed in such a way that it seemed to exclude people working in the field who may not have been Irish. To send out documentation of this nature speaks of a culture in Safefood that must be addressed quickly. On those grounds, the fact that ongoing complaints are being dealt with by authorities North and South, that wrong information has been supplied in answers to two parliamentary questions and that Safefood is sending information that is needlessly insensitive to the feelings of the people with whom it should be working closely, I appeal to the Minister to pass on the information to the Government, particularly to the four Ministers who have been contacted on this, the Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Minister for Health and Children, to implement the parity of esteem that should exist in all North-South bodies and to give meaning to the respect agenda about which we hear others in the House speak.

See this speech in context