Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)

It requires a qualified majority. I beg your pardon. That is important to establish. The more assurances given to the farming community, the better. Prices at the mart last weekend were around €5.50 to €6 per kilo, which has not been seen in years. It was €3.70 or so this time last year. Without European Union grants, farming in Ireland for most people would not be viable. This is the first time they can go to the mart and get something good out of this. People will say this is good for the dairy sector, Irish butter, Irish dairy produce sold overseas and Irish whiskey. In the west of Ireland, in counties like Clare, Galway and Limerick, 85% of farming is based on the suckler herd, so it is important clarity is brought to that. The timeline for Mercosur would be interesting to know. I think it could be brought up just before Christmas. Is there a date for that? What position will we be taking as a country when Mercosur is put to a vote?

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