Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

I am glad the Minister stated she supports these measures but my understanding from the report on last week's meeting was that Ireland was among the countries that criticised the ambitious plan of Commissioner Kyprianou on improving animal welfare. That criticism seems to have been based on the economic consequences which it was perceived would arise if the conditions proposed by the Commissioner were imposed. There was a further commentary that a number of countries felt that if these conditions were put in place, it would leave Europe wide open to imports from third countries where conditions were not as good.

A number of issues arise, in particular with regard to the problem of discovering exactly what happens in third countries, not only with regard to traceability but also with regard to animal welfare. Will the Minister comment on the suggestion that Ireland was one of the countries that criticised the Commissioner's action plan on improving animal welfare?

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