Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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95. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the stage the Mercosur talks have now reached; the safeguards that will be put in place to protect the livelihoods of Irish farmers in the event of an agreement being agreed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49832/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The European Commission presented its final package on the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement on 3 September for onward adoption and approval by the Council of the European Union and European Parliament. The package includes the consolidated text of the original agreement negotiated in 2019 and the additional legal instrument addressing trade and sustainability commitments which was agreed last December.

Throughout the negotiations of this agreement, the Government made clear to the European Commission Ireland’s key requirements in regard to the deal. We repeatedly raised concerns in relation to our priority areas of climate, biodiversity, deforestation, as well as protections and assurances in regard to incomes of farmers in Ireland.

The original agreement includes a safeguard mechanism which could be activated where necessary in order to protect our most vulnerable sectors, including agriculture, from significant market impacts. Importantly, this finalised package includes additional commitments on the operationalisation of safeguards to protect EU and Irish farmers should imports of certain products from the Mercosur bloc breach particular limits.

The European Commission has also been clear that it stands ready to address any market disturbance if required with financial support for EU farmers. In that regard, the European Commission proposes to introduce a new Unity Safety Net for crisis measures, with a total capacity of €6.3 billion.

It is now important that we take time to assess the package text in its entirety to understand if our concerns with the agreement have been adequately addressed. As part of this process, I and my officials will intensify our engagement with the Commission, with like-minded EU Member States, and importantly with stakeholders in Ireland in the period ahead.

Pending that examination, Ireland’s position on the EU-Mercosur Agreement remains as clearly outlined in the Programme for Government.