I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. This is a very important and timely debate. A huge number of people are very worried about the Mercosur deal. I am sure the Minister of State is well aware of the large number of people who attended the meeting at the weekend to express their concern about what could potentially happen to them and their families in the future. They are also extremely disappointed with the Government and how it has handled this issue from the get-go. It has been said a number of times that Ireland could have stopped the Mercosur deal. I do not know if that is the case. We are a small country. What I can say is that Ireland could have tried much harder to work with like-minded countries to try to put a halt to this deal. It is nearly a year since I first asked the Minister whether Ireland would formally submit its opposition to the deal. Following that question, I regularly asked what countries the Minister was working with and who he was talking to? We knew there were a number of like-minded countries and a number of countries that may have been on the fence. From this side of the House, it seemed nothing was happening and there was no robust attempt by the Government to form alliances. That is what people find most frustrating. For the past year, and prior to that because this has been an issue for many years, people saw a lack of action on the part of the Government. During that time, they repeatedly called for support and help and for the Government to stand with them, only to see the Government's U-turn just before Christmas. That smacks of performative politics. It appears there was a lightbulb moment just before Christmas when the Government realised this was a big issue and people were not going to stand for it. At that stage, the Government decided to take a very small measure to try to tell people it was on their side all along. People will not fall for that. Farmers and environmentalists will not fall for it. Indeed, families who are struggling to feed their families high-quality produce at the moment will not fall for it because this does not just impact farmers, as the Minister of State is well aware. It is not just an issue for beef farmers or poultry farmers. It is an issue when it comes to health standards, toxins and how food is produced and it is an issue from an environmental perspective. The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, spoke about trade. Trade is really important. I get that the world is difficult and fractious at the moment and I understand the real urgency and need for Europe to come together, have this trade deal and show strength on a global front. It is, however, even more important during these very difficult global political periods that we hold to our standards. It is important that we have standards, whether for our farmers, workers and communities or for animal health and welfare and the environment, and that we hold to those standards. Unfortunately, this trade deal does not do that. What we are seeing is that Ireland, as a small player in the broader European economic framework, is being sacrificed and farmers here are being sacrificed in order to get this deal through. I also believe farmers and indigenous communities in Brazil are being sacrificed to get this deal through. That is not good enough. I said this in the previous debate and I think it stands true. As the Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, Deputy Dooley will be well aware of the legacy our fishermen and marine sector have had to deal with because of mistakes that were made and sovereignty that was given away during the negotiations on the Common Fisheries Policy. A similar type of deal was done then. Ireland was told that if it gave access to its seas and fish, the European Economic Community would support Ireland and give it money to build its roads. That was a trade deal and we lost out hugely as a result. I see this as being a similar sacrifice that Ireland is expected to make at the table of the European Union and its trade ambitions. In ten or 15 years' time, parliamentarians in this House will be asking how the hell did we sign up to this. The downsides to this deal are so great at this stage that we cannot accept it. I cannot see it being changed or made better at all. I have concerns about whether some deal was done in relation to the derogation. This issue has been mentioned a few times. Obviously, when it comes to trade, there are negotiations and countries have a certain amount of leverage. I fear that we have seen another situation where beef farmers are the poor second cousins of dairy. I want to put that on the record. A significant amount of political capital was spent fighting for the derogation. We are the only country to get it. I am just wondering what we gave up in order to get it. I know that, as a country, we gave up our water quality. That is the unfortunate reality. Hopefully, my fear is not correct but I think it is the case. I wonder what we gave up as a State. I think we gave up our beef and poultry sectors. That is a very unfortunate way to be. I absolutely agree with the Sinn Féin calls. Aontú has an amendment as well. It is important that Deputies of all parties vote against this deal and that the Government continue to strongly fight it. It is not over yet. There is still an opportunity to actually make a change with this. I ask that the Minister of State do so.

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