On 9 January, the Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, declared that Ireland could not support a deal where imported beef came from production systems that were not as carbon efficient and did not have the same stringent standards as Irish agriculture. He declared this as if this news had fallen from the sky. It was known for years, yet the Government failed miserably to garner support to ensure that sufficient numbers were available to defeat this proposal in the EU. As part of the programme for Government, the coalition committed to work with like-minded EU countries to stand for Irish farmers and defend our interests in opposing the current Mercosur trade deal. Irish MEPs have for years highlighted the public health risks of allowing large volumes of beef produced under looser pesticide and veterinary rules into the EU market. Even after proposed EU safeguards, the Government said it still had insufficient confidence in the measures to protect food standards, yet it could not manage to convince enough of our colleagues in Europe of this. The rest of Europe seemed content to have substandard food safety and standards and allow hormones into their food chains. Environmental groups and Irish political figures argued for years that the deal could incentivise further deforestation in South America to expand cattle production. We are being told that we will have to cut our national herd, but Brazil will be allowed to increase its national herd by 28 million by 2034. As the motion states, the Mercosur trade agreement runs entirely counter to EU and Irish climate legislation and would incentivise further deforestation, biodiversity loss and environmental destruction in Mercosur countries, in particular Brazil. This deal creates a double standard. Irish farmers face strict climate rules while competing with imports produced under weaker environmental protections. This totally contradicts EU climate ambitions and also undermines Ireland's commitments to sustainable agriculture. This deal is undoubtedly a threat to the economic fabric of rural communities that rely heavily on beef and livestock. As part of the programme for Government, the coalition committed to work with like-minded EU countries to stand up for Irish farmers and defend our interests in opposing the current Mercosur trade deal, yet the week before Christmas, the IFA called on the Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, to clarify whether he had done some backroom deal with Ursula von der Leyen to back Mercosur and sell out Irish beef and poultry farmers such was its level of suspicion about the Government's stance on Mercosur. Other sectors will benefit, of course, but none of these sectors will seek to send substandard products to South America, be they tech, pharma or whatever else. We also have the issue of workers' rights in South America. The Government must oppose this.

Sentiment score: -0.06