Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contributions this evening. As the Minister, Deputy Creed, said, we want to get the best possible deal for the country and we will work towards that. The key word is balance and as a Government we need to go through this deal in detail and see whether it strikes the right balance for Ireland. I recognise and appreciate the very genuine concerns expressed by our farming community about the Mercosur deal but it is also important that we recognise there are positives in the deal for Ireland and significant benefits for Irish exporters in sectors such as business services, chemicals, the drinks industry, machinery, medical devices and the dairy industry, with a reduction or elimination of tariffs and barriers to trade for these sectors. As I said earlier, and I will say it once again, trade deals have been very good for this country. We are a small open economy and we depend on them. We exported €316 billion worth of goods and services in the past year, which is a lot of goods and services. Many products coming out of this country go across the world and it is important we remember this.

I want to be clear that the fact of the matter is that as a Government we absolutely fought to achieve the best possible deal for our farmers in terms of the agreement in principle that we see. The deal was negotiated at EU level. As a member state, Ireland raised serious concerns over a long period of time. We had various meetings and we made all the contacts we could. The Minister, Deputy Creed, also outlined this. It is important to say that the agreement as it stands at present ensures there will be equivalent standards. The EU sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, standards will not be relaxed in any way. They remain non-negotiable. The highest EU standards will be applied to all imported goods, particularly food, so there will be no hormone beef and no GMOs will be allowed. I reassure farmers that equivalent standards will be an integral part of this agreement.

With regard to concerns regarding climate change and deforestation, Mercosur, including Brazil, will have to fully implement the Paris Agreement as part of this deal. If it does not, the deal will be void and will fall. It is important to remember this is far from a done deal. It is an agreement in principle. It has to go through the legal process and that will take up to two years. It then has to be voted through by a qualified majority of the Trade Council and then it must go through the European Parliament. As I explained earlier, as a mixed agreement it will have to come back to Dáil Éireann and we will be involved in the final ratification process. I certainly hope this is the case and I will certainly be making the case that it should come back to the Dáil.

The quota for beef will be phased in over six years, so we are talking about a deal that might not be fully felt until 2028. Meanwhile, we are staring down the barrel of a possible no-deal Brexit on 31 October. That is 115 days from now. As everyone in the House is very aware, a no-deal Brexit could deliver a serious shock to our economy. In particular, it would have very damaging consequences for the agricultural sector. It is in this context, with serious immediate challenges such as Brexit facing us, that we need to take a step back and use the time available to examine the Mercosur deal in detail. This is why the Department, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, will proceed to ensure a comprehensive independent economic assessment is carried out on Mercosur. We believe we have the time and space necessary to do this. I believe the shape Brexit takes and the impact it will have for the agricultural sector will need to be a key consideration of this economic assessment.

The Taoiseach has made it very clear that the Government has an open mind on the deal. As I outlined earlier, there are benefits in certain sectors but there are also negatives. What we need to do is determine overall whether this will be a win or a loss for our economy. We should not lose sight of the fact we have had EU trade agreements with Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and Mexico and they have been very positive for our agricultural sector. In particular, they provide for the export of 105,000 tonnes of European beef. They were good trade deals for the agricultural sector. I accept that Mercosur is difficult but what we have to do now as a Government is look at the deal in the round. That is what the economic assessment will do. It will ensure that the Government makes a fully informed decision when deciding what position to take when the ratification process on this deal commences in two years' time.

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