Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senators for their participation in this debate. As always with agriculture we have strayed from the point, but it was all done in earnest. On the WTO, all parties are supportive of not going beyond the Council mandate that sets the parameters within which we work. I reiterate that we have gone as far as we can go in the green box on domestic support. We have agreed to phase out export refunds but there must be a parallel or reciprocity. We have concerns about the market access parameters beyond which we cannot go.

On domestic support we want to see other reforms, not what it may be in the future. That is why I have concerns with, for example, the farm Bill, which has not even been on the floor of Congress so we do not know what the outcome will be.

On food aid, the philosophy of the Irish Government and others is that cash is more appropriate. My Department gives food aid through the Food and Agriculture Organisation by way of cash payments. On market access there must be a parallel process and a balanced approach. I think everybody here will agree with my view on this.

The issue of beef has been debated here. Beef is imported into the EU because we have a beef deficit. I have expressed my concerns about this to the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Mr. Kyprianou, and asked for a review on the basis of the bans we have implemented in the EU on foot and mouth disease.

I agree that equal standards should apply to all but it will be difficult to ensure this happens. For less-developed countries that wish and need to achieve food safety and security standards we have aid for trade to support people who do not have the wherewithal to achieve that level. That has been a big issue for agencies such as Trócaire and is the right way forward, but Brazil is not a developing nation in the context of agriculture.