Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Boyd Barrett has said that this treaty has become known as the cows for cars deal and that seems to be the way it is going.

All the focus has been on the fact that the EU will get to export industrial goods while we will get to import agricultural goods, from Brazil in particular, which is apparently of great benefit to us all. Mercosur will support agricultural industry that is partly responsible for mass deforestation in the Amazon and which does not have the same standards of traceability, animal welfare or food safety that we have. In previous responses, the Minister stated that it will all be dealt with and sorted out and that everything will be hunky-dory in the next two years. I do not believe him, however, and nor do many people listening to the debate.

For 25 years, environmental scientists have focused on the destruction of South American forests by ranchers for beef production, which is possibly the largest single setback to the world's ability to control carbon emissions. On 2 July, TheGuardian published an article on the agricultural industry in Brazil and how it is destroying the rainforests. One company was penalised by the Brazilian Government and told it could not export cattle from a farm because rainforests were being cleared for the farm, but the company merely moved to another farm and sells cattle from there. The Minister indicated he will deal with all that and prevent it from happening but I do not believe he will, and nor do many other people. The question is how it will be done and what will happen over the next couple of years.

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