Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Everyone in the Government and on these benches understands the pressures our beef farmers are under, particularly at a time when prices are so low and at a time when they face the threat of a no-deal Brexit in a few months' time. The best thing we can do for our beef industry and beef farmers, recognising their importance to the wider rural economy, is to ensure we secure a deal on Brexit by the end of October so the largest export market for our beef farmers remains open to them in a few months' time. The vast majority of our food is exported from this island and our largest market is the UK. This is the issue to which the Government, the Tánaiste, the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, so many others and I are giving so much time because we know how much our rural economies and farmers will suffer if we end up in a no-deal scenario on 31 October. The concerns that arise from Mercosur will pale into insignificance if we end up with no deal on 31 October.

With regard to Mercosur, what the Deputy said is not correct. There is no trade deal agreed. After 20 years of negotiations led by various people along the way but on this occasion led by Commissioner Malmström of the ALDE group there is now a political agreement between the European Commission and Mercosur on a future trade deal. There will be a two year process whereby that 17 page document will be turned into a legal agreement about this size. It will then go to the trade Council, most likely for a vote under QMV. As I have said before, if it is the case that the trade deal is not in Ireland's interest we will not hesitate to vote against it but we will need to see the full legal agreement and do a full economic and environmental assessment of it because while there is no doubt there are serious downsides in this for our beef industry there may also be upsides too, in the dairy sector, the drinks sector, for small and medium-sized enterprises, industry, manufacturing and lots of other parts of our economy. Any responsible Government has to wait to see what the agreement is and then examine it in the round.

No matter what happens, we will strive to ensure the interests of our beef farmers are protected, first by insisting that the agreement, if it goes through, requires South American countries to meet their obligations under the Paris accords, and it is really important they are tied into this; second by ensuring that any beef exported to the EU from South America meets the same food safety standards and traceability standards as we would expect from our beef farmers and beef industry; and third by making sure that compensatory mechanisms are put in place whereby other markets are opened up to our farmers, as has been the case already in Korea, Japan and Mexico and other places. As the Deputy said, we produce the best beef in the world and when one produces the best beef in the world one can find a market for it and get a good price for it. We need to make sure those markets are open to our farmers.

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