Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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514. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has put forward any specific proposals recently to the EU Trade Commissioner to protect the Irish beef sector in the event of the EU-US trade deal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34688/14]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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520. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proposals he submitted recently to the EU Trade Commissioner regarding the need to protect the Irish beef sector in the event of an EU-US trade deal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34818/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 514 and 520 together.

I would start by saying that Ireland is very supportive of an EU/US trade deal. An agreement between the world’s two major trading blocs has the potential to increase growth and grow jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. In the agri-food sector we have strong offensive interests, both in terms of market access and in eliminating some of the irritants that hinder trade. We are seeking substantial market access for our dairy products and in the prepared foods area. We also want to see action to action to address the question of Grade A equivalence for dairy and the licensing system that applies to dairy imports into the US.

Of course we have sensitivities as well. One of these is our beef sector. While we see some opportunities for establishing a niche market in the US for Irish beef, we have concerns regarding the prospect of increased beef imports into the EU. I have raised these concerns on a number of occasions with the EU Commission. I have proposed that Ireland’s sensitivities are reflected in the size and composition of any quota offered to the US. I have argued that the size of the quota should not exceed European market absorption capacity, which is substantially reduced according to the latest forecasts. I have also proposed that the quota should be designed – via end use conditions – to ensure that imports are not all concentrated on high value cuts and I have argued that an in-quota tariff rate should continue to apply to imports within the quota.

The most recent report of the European Parliament on the trade implications of the EU US trade bears out these Irish concerns in relation to the suckler cow herd in Europe which it finds will be adversely affected by the trade deal. In my meetings with the new Agriculture Commissioner I will continue to outline our concerns and seek mitigating measures in relation to the beef sector.

I would make one final point about suggestions made in some quarters that the EU might grant access to hormone treated beef from the US as part of these negotiations. It is true that the US has said it is seeking access for its hormone treated meat to the EU. However, a decision was taken many years ago to ban the use of hormones in animals in the EU destined for the human food chain. The decision arose from a long series of upsetting reports linking hormone treated meat to birth deformities. The ban forms part of the EU positive but precautionary principle to limit the use of medical treatments to disease prevention and cure and it is impossible in the current climate to see a reversal of the EU decision.