Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the same issue. As Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Tánaiste will have an important role to play in this. There is tremendous concern at the prospect of the offering from the EU to the Mercosur countries supposedly increasing from 70,000 tonnes to 99,000 tonnes in the negotiations last week. For any final deal, will it be a situation where all countries have to agree, in that we would have a veto or will it be by qualified majority voting? Does the Tánaiste know that at this stage? If we are so against it and the Taoiseach and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine have taken such a hard line, as they tell us, why is the European Commission proceeding with increasing the beef offering? Will the Tánaiste give us information on that? As negotiations continue over the next week, will the Tánaiste get the ear of relevant Commissioners and ensure that beef is not sold out at the expense of doing a trade deal?

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