Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I will say more on CETA another time when we can have a proper debate. If we cannot ratify a free trade agreement with Canada in the middle of all the turbulence that is going on in the world, I am concerned. I cannot think of a better, less offensive nation to trade with and have a trade agreement with than Canada. Let us have that debate when the time comes. It is for another day. The Deputy provoked me there.

I want to make a broader point regarding Mercosur, which is that free trade is a really good thing. I say that as Minister with responsibility for trade. The IFA is a member of the Government trade forum. Most of what Irish farmers produce is exported and I want them to have lots of places where they can sell their produce. It is some of the best produce in the world, we are proud of it and it is an important part of our economic model. I made the point at the recent working lunch of the Foreign Affairs Council's trade configuration that Europe, including its member states and the Commission, must get better at working out how we can engage with farmers and the agriculture sector earlier on in the process. Otherwise, this issue will arise time and again as we seek to make other free trade agreements.

Our position on Mercosur is outlined in the programme for Government. I am not changing it or deviating from it. I ask the Deputy, please, not to think I am. However, as we go forward, we must look at how we can involve farmers and the agriculture sector in protecting their interests much earlier in the process in order that we do not end up with a trade agreement that has good elements but leaves us asking, "What about the farmers?" That is not a clever way for us to proceed. We will want and need more free trade agreements and we must think about how we bring farmers and their interests with us from the start of the process rather than getting to the end and wondering whether there is any way to make it work for farmers. That sequencing is completely wrong.

We will continue to engage on Mercosur with like-minded countries. Our programme for Government commitment still stands. The IFA is on the Government trade forum, which gives it a seat at the table in terms of trade policy and stakeholder engagement as we go forward. Europe really needs to crack this issue because we need more free trade agreements and we need to work out a way of bringing farmers with us, not just in Ireland but across the European Union.

See this speech in context