On Monday, the EU told Mercosur countries that the trade deal would be provisionally applied from 1 May. What engagements has the Minister had regarding the EU-Mercosur trade agreement? Has she told the Commissioner that forcing through this trade deal is not acceptable?

Sentiment score: 0.11

There are very real concerns for consumers and farmers regarding the risk this trade deal poses. We have seen the recall of Brazilian beef over the presence of banned cancer-linked drugs. God only knows how much more drug-riddled beef has been sold in Ireland and across the EU, because the levels of laboratory testing are an utter embarrassment. Does the Minister know the percentage of laboratory checks that are carried out? Would she like to hazard a guess? It is 1.7%. Is it the Minister's position that this is an acceptable amount of testing, especially considering all the recalls last year? To me, there is an air of secrecy about it all. Last year, 172 tonnes of beef came in from Brazil. When I asked where it went, the trade data did not even summarise the destination or the end user, so there is no record.

Sentiment score: -0.06

The Commission clearly holds the Dáil in low esteem. It has consistently failed to reply to concerns raised by me through the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food. We have written to the Commission on a number of occasions since November, which was the first time, then in January and then again as recently as yesterday. We have been seeking answers and clarity, and silence is all we have been met with. The European Parliament voted to refer this deal to the European Court of Justice because of concerns around its legality. This was a democratic vote from representatives of the people of the EU. The Commission has opted to ignore elected representatives here in Ireland and across the EU and pushed on with the deal regardless. Is the Minister not concerned at the blatant disregard for the democratic process? I am a suckler farmer. These are the farmers who are going to be selling weanlings. Their product will not get to the shelves for another year, so they are the ones who are going to be caught. I have asked for the Commission to write back to us but it is just ignoring us. To me, this smells something rotten. Nobody seems to be answering the questions.

Sentiment score: -0.07

It was trade and agriculture.

Sentiment score: 0.00

I have huge issues with the fact that it does not come back to us.

Sentiment score: 0.32