Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. We will not change our rules on GMO and we will not accept hormone treated beef, as the EU has made clear from the outset. The text of any deal will run to thousands of pages and it is still under negotiation. Nothing will be agreed until everything is agreed and I expect negotiations to continue for some time. Any final agreement is subject to agreement by all member states, including ourselves. It has to be approved by the democratically elected European Parliament and also by this House. The negotiating process is not complete at present.

There is a reading room in my Department. I invite every Deputy to come over and see the two lever arch files of documentation that are in the Department. Deputies received a letter of invitation yesterday. I ask them to take it up and to visit the room.

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