Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

The real concern I have is that the Government is ignoring the momentum which exists for a deal to be made at this point and the consequences this deal will have for our agriculture industry, which remains a valuable part of our economy.

This morning I heard David O'Sullivan, the director general of trade at the EU Commission, on "Morning Ireland". He more or less stated that we are concerning ourselves with the "potential consequences of something that is not yet fully agreed". Surely now is the exact time at which Ireland needs to push its message across, as I see little point in discussing the deal after it has been concluded.

Commissioner Mandelson is at those talks to represent the European Union and this means he is there to represent our country. How well he does this depends on how well our Ministers and Government do their job.

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