Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Costello to the House. I thank her for saying those nice words about the House. We hope we are here next year and the following year to honour those. I have a couple of questions, one of which relates to safe food in Europe. Is there a danger, particularly after what has happened with the discovery in Ireland of the horsemeat scandal, that the image the European Union has of creating safe food has been damaged and that we are lagging behind other parts of the world? May I tag on to that the possibility of a free trade agreement with the United States because of the very large subsidies that farmers in the European Union get from CAP? Given the ban in the European Union on major American imports coming into Ireland, how can we manage to ensure there will be a free trade agreement? Is that likely to happen? The ban on beef and certain chicken products coming into the European Union makes it very difficult because we have been protecting ourselves on that basis.

My other question is on SMEs and the late payment directive from the European Union. The SMEs believe that the late payment directive will damage the Irish position. We have the latest payments in the European Union given that it takes 66 days to get paid. The new directive requires that payment be made within 30 days but not later than 60; that actually means 60 days. Anybody who is paying will say they are okay for 60 days. Does Ms Costello, MEP, believe EU legislation, such as this, adds to the cost of operating businesses in the European Union?