I attended the protest in Athlone on Saturday. It was a very powerful demonstration and reflection of what the people think of this deal. People travelled from all across Ireland to be there. It was a clear message that this deal will impact everyone, urban and rural alike, particularly when it comes to food safety, food security and fairness. The day before the deal was agreed, the Government claimed that it was voting against it, but let us be honest: it did it because it knew it was going through anyway. It was safe to say “No” because it had already failed to do the work when it actually mattered. In the programme for Government, the Government committed to building an alliance across Europe to form a blocking minority but it utterly failed to do that. Despite numerous warnings over many years from Irish farming organisations, environmental experts and Sinn Féin, it did not do enough. Irish farmers and consumers will pay the price for that failure. We need a full, detailed account of every legal, political and diplomatic action this Government has taken or failed to take in relation to the Mercosur trade deal. I spoke to people in Athlone on Saturday, including farmers from County Clare. They want a level playing field. That does not exist under Mercosur. There is no meaningful regulation and no proper traceability. They do not even tag their cattle. The rebranding of this deal as a so-called partnership agreement is undemocratic. Member states must have the right to debate and vote on this in their national parliaments. Allowing exporters to self-certify compliance with the EU standards, while Irish farmers are held to the highest standards of animal welfare, traceability, regulation and environmental protection, is fundamentally unjust. The Government must actively work to maximise opposition to this deal among MEPs and finally block Mercosur for Irish farmers, rural communities, our environment, food safety and food security.

Sentiment score: 0.04