Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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225. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the engagement he has had with his “like-minded” European counterparts in relation to the EU Mercosur Free Trade Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15222/25]

Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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243. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to reaffirm Ireland’s opposition to the current Mercosur trade deal in accordance with the Programme for Government; to outline the details of engagement with EU partners in opposing the deal since December 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15580/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 225 and 243 together.

The Government is committed to supporting free, fair and open trade. Our EU membership makes us part of the growing network of EU Free Trade Agreements, supporting more opportunity for exports and investment, helping support jobs and growth at home, maintaining strict EU standards on food safety, animal and plant health, and supporting better environmental and human rights standards around the world.

We have always been clear, however, that such agreements must defend our most vulnerable sectors and that our farmers’ livelihoods must not be undermined through weak or ineffective environmental standards in other countries.

In regard to the EU-Mercosur agreement, in addition to our specific sector sensitivities such as agriculture, Ireland has repeatedly raised concerns at EU level regarding the strength of the trade and sustainability commitments in the original agreement negotiated in 2019. As a response to those concerns, the European Commission engaged in further negotiations with Mercosur on a new, interpretative legal instrument aimed at addressing and strengthening sustainability commitments. On 6 December 2024, the European Commission announced that it had concluded negotiations with Mercosur.

I wish to assure the Deputy that my officials and I have continued to engage at EU level at every opportunity – with both the European Commission and with counterparts in EU Member States, including “like-minded” Member States – to voice our concerns in relation to the EU-Mercosur Agreement. Such engagements have taken place at the Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) with other EU Member State Ministers, at meetings of officials in the Trade Policy Committee, and at bilateral level. I and officials have repeatedly emphasised Ireland's requirements for credible, legally-binding commitments on matters relating to trade and sustainable development, including climate, biodiversity, and deforestation protections, as well as protections and assurances in regard to incomes of farmers in Ireland.

Since the Commission announced the conclusion of negotiations, officials from my Department and other departments, including the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, have been carefully analysing the text of the additional legal instrument and have engaged with the Commission to interrogate the outcome of negotiations to assess if our concerns have been adequately addressed.

Engagements with the Commission are continuing as we seek sufficient clarification on the priority areas of climate, biodiversity, deforestation and the protection of farmer's incomes in advance of any final decision by Government. In advance of receiving the additional clarifications and assurances that we require on all of these issues, Ireland's position on the EU-Mercosur Agreement will remain as clearly outlined in the Programme for Government.