Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

Okay, if we are let get back to it.

Meanwhile imports produced with lower environmental safeguards effectively undercut these efforts. That is not fair competition; that is regulatory hypocrisy. Embedding references to the Paris Agreement into the text might provide political signalling but without binding enforceable environmental conditionality, it will not close the gap. If we are serious about protecting farmers, defending environmental standards and asserting food sovereignty, we must insist on treaty language that goes beyond rhetoric. This means concrete, enforceable obligations, automatic remedies for demonstrated competitive distortions and a transparent independent monitoring regime with teeth. Anything else will leave Irish producers paying the price of diplomacy dressed up as progress.

There is then the issue of health. The quality of meat produced under Mercosur standards raised serious concerns. Brazil's beef farmers are known to use pesticides banned in the EU and reports have highlighted carcinogenic residues, antibiotic overuse, with poor traceability. Indeed, the use of hormones, such as estradiol, are used in some Mercosur production systems. This is a hormone that is banned in the EU due to cancer risks. How can we stand by our children consuming that? Overuse of antibiotics in intensive production contributes to antimicrobial resistance, weaker pesticide control and increases the risk of carcinogenic residues. In 2017, the EU banned Brazilian meat for a period because of these systemic failures.

Has that been completely forgotten by this Government? We are so lucky in Ireland to have a high level of trust in our food system. Ratifying Mercosur would erode that trust and put our consumers at risk.

This deal is not inevitable and the Government can stand against it. This motion stands up for Irish farmers, food safety and environmental integrity. I strongly urge the Government to support this motion and to formally object to the Mercosur free trade deal. When I say "formally object", I mean formally object. I do not mean the Government should go to the newspapers and talk about how it does not think it should go through. I do not mean standing up here in the Dáil and pretending or using rhetoric to suggest it is objecting to it. I mean it should actually go to the table and say this Government will not support it. That is what is necessary. There should be no more talk in the papers, no more press releases, no more fluffy language or pretending the Government is going to do something, treating farmers like they have not a notion what it is doing. They know exactly what the Government is doing. They know they are not being represented by it. They know they are not being represented by the Independents on those benches and by that kind of behaviour we have seen here tonight.

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