Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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236. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has had discussions with the EU Agriculture Commissioner and with the EU Trade Commissioner regarding the need to protect the European beef sector in discussions on Mercosur; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29184/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I and my officials have been very active in highlighting the potentially very damaging impact of a Mercosur deal on the European agriculture sector, and on the beef sector in particular.

At political level, I have continuously raised the issue with my Member State colleagues and with Commissioners Hogan and Malmström, both within the Council of Agriculture Ministers and in written form. I also continue to monitor the situation closely in co-operation with my Government colleagues, particularly the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and the Taoiseach.

These efforts have been reinforced at official level through similar contacts with Member States and the Commission, particularly through the Special Committee on Agriculture and the Trade Policy Committee.

While the Commission responded to the strong lobbying by Ireland and others by excluding a beef Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) from the offers exchanged with Mercosur on 11 May 2016, there is a need for continued vigilance in relation to the conduct of these trade negotiations. We are also insisting that the timing and content of any beef TRQ offer is handled appropriately, and in a manner that safeguards the interests of the Irish and European beef sector in particular.

This must also take into account the findings of the Commission’s recent cumulative impact assessment, which strongly reinforce Ireland’s position in relation to beef. They are also a very effective reminder of the need for great caution in our approach to the issue of beef TRQs.