Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

It is important to state our position should not be against any world trade deal as Ireland has many industries. Most of the growth in our economy comes from the export sector at present, and many of those exports are to world markets outside the European Union. We must be careful, therefore, in what we say about world trade. At the same time, we cannot allow an agreement to be reached between the European Union and any other collection of countries that sacrifices an industry of fundamental importance to the Irish economy such as the beef industry. We must ensure that the current round of talks that are ongoing between the European Union and the four South American countries concerned does not result in a deal that is contrary to Irish interests, particularly in the beef sector.

We have asked the European Commission to carry out an economic impact assessment of a new Mercosur deal before it is done, and I will remind it of that obligation tomorrow. We cannot strike a deal or make an offer in terms of beef quota access to the European Union from South America without having such an economic assessment in place, so everybody can understand the implications of a deal. We cannot sacrifice a sector, one that happens to be hugely important for Ireland, to allow other European business interests to access new markets. That is not the way the European Union should work.

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