The frustrating thing about this post-Council meeting discussion is that, first, there is not enough time to discuss a lot of the issues and, second, for it to work, we need to really get a sense of the Irish position in relation to what happened. The Taoiseach in his opening statement outlined what Ireland's position was on some of the issues. If we are to continue with these things, it would be really useful if we had that approach going forward. It gives us a better sense of what was actually discussed and what the Irish position is on any of these huge issues. As the Taoiseach said, geo-economic issues were discussed at the European Council meetings. Food safety and security are clearly part of this. Mercosur was not a formal item, but I want to touch on that. My party, Sinn Féin, has been consistent for decades now that Mercosur is a bad deal for Ireland. It threatens the viability of many family farms, undermines climate and food standards and opens the door to substandard imports that are negative for both Irish consumers and Irish producers. My concern also is that, in many cases, it is poor people who will be buying what I see as substandard food that is laced with all sorts of steroids, hormones and everything else. It is just not on. Ireland’s beef and dairy sectors are among the most export orientated in the EU but they also operate higher environmental, animal welfare and traceability standards. South American ranchers can buy all the steroids and antibiotics they want and pump them into their cattle. We had the Bolsonaro government cutting down the rainforest. We are saying we are concerned about the environment but this will wipe out huge parts of the Amazon rainforest. Many of the cattle from that area will come to Ireland. The Government said it appreciates the concerns relating to Mercosur. While it voted against the trade deal, many believe this only came to pass because it was safe in the knowledge that the vote would pass as a result of Italy’s decision to support it. The Government waited until the eleventh hour to make sure it would not make waves in Europe. Maybe I am just an old cynic but that is not leadership. It is cynical play-acting and most Irish people will not be fooled by it. I am worried about the European Parliament’s role in this regard. Disappointingly, Barry Andrews MEP has stated clearly that he is going to vote in favour of the deal. Seán Kelly MEP is not saying which way he means to vote. He is waiting to see what way the wind blows, presumably. Importing 99,000 tonnes of beef and 180,000 tonnes of poultry into the EU will have a catastrophic impact on Irish and EU farmers, depressing prices and destabilising rural livelihoods. I made the point that when it comes to the consumers, it is the poorer people who will be impacted most negatively. Mercosur will only further incentivise deforestation, biodiversity loss and environmental destruction in Mercosur countries, particularly Brazil.

Sentiment score: 0.01

Was the relative failure of the Cyprus-Gaza maritime aid corridor discussed? Was any alternative suggested to simply shipping aid to an Israeli port to join the other thousands of tonnes of aid that has not been allowed through to Palestinian people who are living in tents? Were sanctions against Israel discussed owing to the massive increase in settler violence against Palestinian civilians, the spike in forced displacement and the annexation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem?

Sentiment score: -0.30

The Taoiseach referred to the Horizon Europe research programme, which includes the continuation of the PEACEPLUS programme. What was the reaction on that? If the Minister of State does not have time to reply, he might send us a note on it.

Sentiment score: 0.00