Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two issues. I was not in the House yesterday, but I welcome the independent report from Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill on abuse victims. I know the former pupils of Creagh Lane as I have dealt with them for some time. There was frustration at the length of time Mr. Justice O'Neill’s review took but the outcome is the correct one. It was always felt that the prior complaint condition was questionable, in that if someone was convicted of abuse in a criminal court, the prior complaint rule should not have applied under the redress board. I welcome that such a decision has now been put in place. I note from both what the Taoiseach said yesterday and what the Minister for Education and Skills said in the Dáil today that the Minister is looking to expedite the reopening of the redress board. I hope that will be done as quickly as possible and that the former pupils of Creagh Lane can get on with their lives.These were young pupils going to a school and what happened there should never have happened. I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach has apologised on behalf of the State.

The IFA had a briefing on Mercosur yesterday. It is critical now that the standards applied to beef coming in from the Mercosur countries are the same as apply to beef being sold by Irish and other European producers. We have 270,000 tonnes coming into the European markets from the Mercosur countries as we speak. There is a need for a sit-down on how these standards are applied. I understand it is based on random sampling. It should be put back on the Mercosur producers to provide evidence that they have met the standards. That should apply as quickly as possible. The beef produced in Ireland in particular is of the highest standard and there cannot be any ambiguity around the fact that the quality of beef coming in from the Mercosur countries has to meet the same standards. That is the way forward.