Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

The Minister has often said that a majority of the Ministers on the Agriculture and Fisheries Council are opposed to this deal. However, I am concerned that the Ministers on the General Affairs and External Relations Council will do the final deal, as Deputy Kenny has suggested. How much opposition to this deal is evident among foreign affairs Ministers? One of the objectives of this motion is to compel the Minister, Deputy Coughlan, and her Cabinet colleagues to do the right thing in the interests of Irish agriculture. I ask her to assure the House that she will use her veto to defeat the WTO deal if it is presented as it currently stands. If she refuses to do this, she will have to look the farmers of this country, including those in the Gallery for this debate, in the eye and explain why the Government is refusing to stand by them in their hour of need.

Article 39 of the Treaty of Rome outlines the European Union's aims in the agriculture sector. The EU seeks to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, increase the earnings of those engaged in agriculture, stabilise markets and assure food supply at a reasonable price. In a year when the eyes of the entire Union are upon us, the Minister has a responsibility to protect the rights which are enshrined in the founding document of the European Community. Her failure to show honest and courageous leadership on this key issue is jeopardising the commitment to the European project of those who have been its most ardent advocates. She needs to wake from her slumber and reject Mandelson's misery. If she says "No" to the WTO's agriculture proposals, she will allow the citizens of the EU to rest easy in the knowledge that the reform treaty will be ratified. As things stand, however, her indecision and evasiveness on this deal are allowing the waters of the treaty debate to be muddied.

This debate is an exercise in parliamentary accountability. The Minister, Deputy Coughlan, needs to come out of the comfort zone of Cabinet governance by laying before the House, for once and for all, where she stands on the WTO deal. Essentially, it is a matter of avoiding undue risk. The Minister is putting at risk the livelihoods of thousands of farmers who have consistently stepped up to the plate by meeting EU requirements. She is jeopardising the future of the food processing industry, which would crumble and collapse in the face of cheap imports of dubious quality. The Minister is exposing consumers to the risk of potentially unsafe food. She is putting the European project at risk by calling into question the safe passage of the reform treaty. Her silence on this matter makes her complicit in the looming global food scarcity crisis. She has failed this House by not putting before it the nature and extent of her intentions in respect of this world trade deal. The Minister has a final opportunity to redeem herself by accepting the Fine Gael motion, which I commend to the House.

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