Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)

I support Senator Quinn's comments on the food export industry. With the outbreak of E.coli in Europe and the many deaths caused by haemolytic-uraemic syndrome, a complication arising from it, will the Leader organise a debate on food, particularly country-of-origin labelling? While such labelling is a requirement for beef, fruit and vegetables, it is not so for pigmeat, poultry and sheepmeat. We should not have to wait for another food crisis to happen before we introduce these rules. Will the Leader invite both the Minister for Health and the Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food to the House for an open debate on country-of-origin food labelling for pigmeat, poultry and sheepmeat, and the issue of substantial transformation which is not distinguished by the tariff nomenclature given that both their Departments have already drafted regulations on the introduction of such labelling?