The Mercosur deal is a great example of the Government again putting EU demands over the wants and needs of our own citizens. It is yet another example of the Government completely failing to do the right thing and then, embarrassingly, trying to save face at the last minute. The Government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing for its own citizens. The reality is that it knew this deal would go through anyway, so it voted "No". It did so to save face and it decided to do so when it was obvious the deal had been done. It was a last-minute desperate attempt to save face because it knew the public was turning. There was no attempt by the Government to make the case against the Mercosur deal in Europe or to convince other countries to vote against it or use our voice. Rural communities will be left to carry this burden. The deal is an attack on Irish agriculture. Our rural communities have been completely undermined. We have the best food standards, animal welfare protections and climate commitments. These are going to be thrown into the rubbish when the Mercosur deal comes in. Our farmers are being punished. What is coming down the line is nothing but a travesty. Our fishing industry is also being bled dry by Europe. In Ireland, we hold 12% of EU waters and we are allocated less than 6% of the fishing quota. The new fishing quota saw us lose one third of that. This will also happen to the Irish farmer. Mark my words, when this meat comes in we are done. The Government has to stop prioritising European demands over the needs of its own citizens and consider that we are getting absolutely nothing out of Europe. It is bleeding us dry. We need to stand up and fight and we need to say "No".

Sentiment score: -0.06