Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)

It is great to have the Minister attend along with so many officials. I welcome his opening remarks and it is positive to see progress on the ACRES payment scheme. Farmers put a lot of faith into the scheme and I would not like to see any more delays in it. Officials from the EU were in Leinster House last week to brief Members on the Mercosur deal. I raised with them several concerns that Irish farmers have about the negative impact they will face if Mercosur comes into effect. To be honest, I was shocked by their attitude towards these concerns. The European Commission representatives showed little or no concern about the negative impact Mercosur will have on our beef farmers. They acknowledged that beef farmers will suffer as a result. Incomes of farmers throughout the State are balanced on a knife edge. Suckler farmers earn an income of €9,500 on average. Flooding the EU with cheap South American beef would devastate Irish beef farmers. After the meeting last week it looks like Mercosur is a done deal. Is protecting the Irish beef sector a red line issue for the Government in talks on the Mercosur trade deal? Has the Government identified enough other like-minded EU member states to veto the deal if need be? Did the Minister meet the Commission officials last week? If so, did they also tell him that Mercosur will harm the Irish beef sector?

With regard to CAP, the Minister's colleague, Barry Cowen, raised concerns that there is a risk of a €250 billion shortfall if CAP funding is not increased. Is this a concern the Minister shares? Will he advocate for an increase in funding?