Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is disappointing that we are discussing a deal approved in recent days that will be disastrous for the Irish beef sector and makes no sense from a number of points of view. From an economic point of view, farmers in Europe are getting prices of as little as €3.65 per kg for prime quality beef. Europe is currently 102% self-sufficient in beef. We have enough beef and facilitating the import of more will place considerable pressure on beef prices. The European Union's 2016 impact assessment on trade deals shows that a trade deal with Mercosur could result in a 16% fall in the price of beef in the EU. From a climate change point of view, this deal flies in the face of efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. It will result in beef produced in a much more carbon intensive manner elsewhere being shipped across the world to this country where we can produce beef in a much more carbon efficient manner. What steps does the Minister propose to take to push back this beef deal? The agreement reached between the EU and Mercosur last weekend is a tremendous political failure on the part of the Minister, the Taoiseach and the Government.

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