Johnny Brady (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

The Minister took that step because she was not happy with the Commission's proposal for a partial ban on the basis of information available at the time. What is happening now? As part of the arrangements under the partial ban, a number of Brazilian farms have been approved for export to the EU whereas the requirement should be that any such farms should first be approved by the food and veterinary office as meeting EU standards. This was the stance taken by the Minister when she voted against the Commission's proposal and this is what should now be happening.

The beef sector continues to face challenges. The evolving marketplace requires that all involved should be in a position to respond and meet these tests head on. Irish beef faces increased competitive pressures from South America in all of its key markets. The low-cost base and abundance of supply in Brazil and Argentina, in particular, continue to challenge Irish exporters.

The ongoing WTO negotiations are also crucial from Ireland's perspective, particularly with regard to beef, and it is vital for any agreement to recognise this. The Minister has acknowledged this in the past and I urge her to maintain this strong stance in the Council for as long as these WTO negotiations continue.

The price of feed materials worldwide has increased significantly over the last year and this is putting serious pressure on producers. This comes on top of ever-increasing costs in such areas as compliance with legislation on environmental protection and animal welfare, labour and various other overheads. These factors have impacted on the returns available to producers.

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