Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

As a proposed trade agreement, Mercosur is the responsibility, first and foremost, of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. As Minister for the agriculture sector and farmers, I continue to highlight the sensitivities of this trade proposal for our beef sector in particular. I believe strongly that Ireland and our agriculture sector benefit greatly from our open trade policy and from being part of the EU, including, in general, the trade agreements it concludes. This does not mean we have to support every single trade deal. In alignment with the programme for Government, we work with like-minded countries because we have those concerns and sensitivities. We have also analysed the safeguards that have been put in place by the EU. The proposals around how they would be implemented and interact with the legal instrument is a really important consideration as well. To stop this deal would require a blocking minority of at least four member states, with at least 35% of the population. That is why I have engaged with key colleagues. At the most recent meeting, I met my French and Italian counterparts, continuing the commitment in the programme for Government to work with like-minded countries that share those concerns around the proposal.

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