Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail)

I will try not to go over the many points that have already been made but it would be remiss of me not to address some of the issues in relation to the Mercosur deal. The Opposition seems to take the position that the Mercosur deal is bad but the Opposition has never had to negotiate a trade deal. The success of Irish agriculture is based on trade deals made through the EU. We have a team that will negotiate a Mercosur deal, and it will be a good deal for Irish agriculture. Nobody sets out to get a bad trade deal. It will be a very solid trade deal for Irish farmers. We are confident of that. I am quite satisfied that it will be a good deal for farmers.