Sinn Féin TD for Waterford and the party’s spokesperson on Rural Affairs, Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Conor McGuinness, has called on the government to stand up for Irish farmers and support Sinn Féin’s motion tonight opposing the Mercosur Trade Agreement.
In a direct challenge to Waterford’s two government-supporting TDs, John Cummins and Mary Butler, Deputy McGuinness urged them to “put Waterford farmers first” and vote in favour of the Sinn Féin motion.
He stated that “any TD who claims to stand with farm families and rural communities cannot, in good conscience, hide behind government spin while a deal of this scale threatens livelihoods across the South-East.”
Speaking in the Dáil, Teachta McGuinness said:
“The Mercosur trade agreement is a bad deal for Irish agriculture, it’s a bad deal for Irish and EU consumers and it’s a bad deal for the environment. Sinn Féin’s motion today is calling for cross-party support to send a clear message that Ireland opposes this deal.
“Government’s response to Mercosur so far has been lacklustre. They have taken a sit-back-and-wait approach rather than fighting for the interests of Irish farmers and their position of opposing the deal in its current form is no longer tenable.
“Negotiations are finished, the deal is done and now is the time to decide if you are for or against the deal.
“We all know that Irish beef is produced to a world-class standard and it will be expected to compete against cheap, substandard beef from South America that is produced to poor animal welfare standards with little or no traceability regulations.
“This agreement between the EU and Mercosur countries will have a devastating impact on Irish agriculture, not to mention the environmental consequences from deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado tropical savanna.
“All of the farming organisations are opposed to the Mercosur Trade Agreement, and we expect there to be a strong presence from farming organisations at the debate tonight to send a clear message that they want this deal opposed.
“Irish agriculture, public health and the environment cannot be put at risk for the sake of selling more German cars in South America.
“It is not too late to stop this deal, and the Irish Government should be doing everything it can and engage with other member states to form a blocking minority at the EU Council meeting in December.
“This is a bad deal for Ireland and Dáil Éireann needs to send a clear message that it says no to Mercosur.”
Conor D. McGuinness TD 