Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I want to go back to the replies the Taoiseach has given to Deputy Kenny and to me in regard to the Mercosur talks. What I interpret from what the Taoiseach is saying is that the reopening of those talks may bring the possibility of Irish farmers being faced with unfair competition from imports of Brazilian beef. The European Union has rightly put in place a regime of food safety, traceability and high standards in regard to beef. I appreciate that the Taoiseach has referred to the work being done by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Smith, but it is simply not acceptable that Irish farmers should be exposed to unfair competition from imports from a country where the same standards do not apply as in the European Union. There is also the knock-on consequence for the wider beef industry.

The motion that was passed in the House yesterday evening regarding the attack on the flotilla and the response of the Israeli Government included three provisions. First, that there would be safe passage for the Irish owned vessel and for all of the vessels; second, that those who had been detained would be released; and, third, that there should be an independent international investigation into what happened on Monday morning, particularly the killings that took place on the Turkish ship. I listened this morning on radio to a representative of the Israeli Government who seemed to be saying that Israel would fast-track some type of deportation process for those who had been detained. He seemed to be saying there would not be safe passage or free passage for the Irish vessel. He talked about the option being there for that vessel to go to a port in Israel or in Egypt and, by implication, seemed to be saying that if it did not take either of those options-----

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