EU Agreements
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Natasha Newsome Drennan (SF), Carlow-Kilkenny

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.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26