Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

In regard to food security within the European Union and the need to protect our capacity to produce large volumes of high-quality food in this country, there are potential threats in the context of WTO negotiations and other bilateral trade agreements which are currently on the table. For example, Mercosur, the South American trade bloc of which Brazil and Argentina are the two largest members, is currently in ongoing negotiations with the European Union with a view to producing and selling more produce for export into the European Union with fewer restrictions, in return for which certain EU exports, predominantly financial services and manufactured products, will gain access to South American markets. From an Irish perspective, this presents threats of which we must be wary. Given that our largest food export is beef, the prospect of significantly increased imports of high-value beef from countries such as Brazil is a cause for concern. However, for a whole series of reasons, any deal on Mercosur has been put off for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the overall thrust of the Deputy's point is correct. Several countries are very similar to Ireland in their thinking on this issue. There are also countries which are far more protectionist in their outlook in terms of food production and cross-border trade.

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