Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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140. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagements he has had in relation to the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65494/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Along with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, who has lead responsibility for trade policy, I have actively engaged with both the European Commission and with other Member States across the EU to voice Ireland’s concerns in relation to the EU-Mercosur Agreement.

During these engagements, we 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.

We have repeatedly emphasised that beef in particular is a very sensitive sector, which is vulnerable to negative impacts from the Mercosur agreement.

Since my appointment as Minister earlier this year, I have raised these concerns at Agri-Fish Council meetings and also with like-minded Member States through bilateral meetings on the margins of these Council meetings. In recent months, I have met with my French, Italian, Austrian, Latvian and Polish counterparts to exchange views. Most recently, I have met with my Italian and French counterparts en marge of the November Agri-Fish Council meeting in Brussels.

In October the Commission made a proposal to further reinforce safeguards on imports of sensitive products through a dedicated legal act which will operationalise the Bilateral Safeguards chapter of the agreement. Ireland has sought clear, transparent and regular two-way engagement on the monitoring of the market situation for sensitive products, as well as some clarity on definitions within the regulation and the use of surveillance measures. We will continue to engage with Commission on these issues.

As it stands Ireland's position on the EU-Mercosur Agreement remains as clearly outlined in the Programme for Government: ‘Work with like-minded EU countries to stand up for Irish farmers and defend our interests in opposing the current Mercosur trade deal."