Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion.

Fianna Fáil has supported previous EU trade deals with Japan, Mexico, Canada and Singapore, which were important and good for this country. It also is important, in the context of the EU making trade deals, that the Government represents the country well and ensures that the deals done are fair in terms of the national interest and proportionate.

Unfortunately, when it comes to this Mercosur deal, we have been let down by the Government in that regard, particularly so when we have had our own national Commissioner in the role of EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, because it is the beef aspect of this deal in particular which represents such a big threat to the country. When one looks at the fact that Ireland is the largest EU exporter of beef and the fifth largest beef exporter globally, the agricultural sector in Ireland will be carrying a lot of weight of the losses of the agreement so that other sectors can benefit, and there are also many poultry and pork quotas involved. That represents a political failure on behalf of the Government in not having ensured that our interests were better represented in Europe with the headline deal that has been achieved.

One of the key reasons the deal does not make sense is the climate change aspect. We have seen the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, along with Commissioner Hogan, propose a 50:50 €100 million stock reduction package in recent months, which involves an option to have domestic stock reduced. Meanwhile, it would appear there is no problem taking in an additional quota from South America to depress our domestic markets further. When one looks at the fact that Europe is 102% self-sufficient for beef, we have no need to take high carbon footprint beef from South America, where it is impacting on the Amazon rainforest, all the way to Europe where it can be produced much more efficiently and to Ireland where we can produce beef more efficiently than in any other part of the world.

The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, have been a soft touch in representing Irish interests at European level up to now, alongside Commissioner Hogan. It is time they stiffened their resolve and brought the case to Europe of the damaging impact this deal would have on Irish interests and pushed back to try to ensure that the interests of Ireland, particularly of our agricultural sector, are protected. Our agricultural sector has many representatives here today and had many representatives here yesterday who have made it clear how their livelihoods are at stake as a result of what is being proposed in this deal.

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