Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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54. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to block the Mercosur deal as it currently stands to protect Irish farm livelihoods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46942/17]

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. We continue to monitor the situation closely and respond as appropriate to developments in order to defend the interests of Irish farmers, working in close co-operation with my Government colleagues, particularly the Tánaiste and the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and the Taoiseach. 

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. 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. The Taoiseach has also raised the matter with Presidents Junker and Macron.

Most recently Ireland made the latest in a series of very strong interventions on this matter at the Trade Policy Committee in Brussels on 27 October, and I raised the matter at the Council of Agriculture Ministers in Luxembourg in October and again in Brussels this week.  I have also worked very closely with a number of other Member States, most notably France, including in the production of a joint paper that was submitted to the European Commission on 26 September outlining our shared concerns. And I wrote to Commissioner Malmstroem in early October reiterating my concerns in relation to the tabling of a beef tariff rate quota offer by the EU during the most recent round of negotiations.

I believe there is a need for continued vigilance in relation to the conduct of these trade negotiations, and I will continue to insist that they are handled appropriately, and in a manner that safeguards the interests of the Irish and European beef sector. In this regard I believe full account must be taken of the findings of the Commission’s own assessment of the cumulative impact of trade deals on the agrifood sector, and the potentially very damaging impact of Brexit on an already delicately balanced EU beef market.

Against this background I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to engage closely with other Member States and the Commission to ensure that the interests of the EU beef sector are protected in any trade deal with Mercosur countries.