Agri-food and food security has been highlighted as one of the key areas for cooperation between Ireland and Canada, on the occasion of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to Ireland.

The prime minister touched down in Dublin Airport earlier today (Saturday, June 13), where he was received by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

Later, a joint statement was issued on behalf of both leaders to mark the occasion.

The statement said that both leaders agreed to eight areas for further cooperation to "further drive strategic cooperation and unlock new opportunities for our people and businesses across the Atlantic".

Agri-food is one of these areas, with the Taoiseach and prime minister "recognising the importance of resilient and sustainable agri-food systems".

The statement said that the two leaders have committed to advancing an agri-food investment and supply chain partnership "event" to strengthen two-way investment and "supply chain resilience".

Ireland and Canada will also explore means to support agri-food investment and promote engagement between Canadian and Irish firms to support "vibrant and thriving agri-food sectors", the statement said.

The statement added that the two countries will deepen dialogue on market access issues for agriculture, food, seafood and drink products; and increase collaboration on agricultural innovation and science-based approaches to food systems.

They will also explore opportunities to jointly engage with other partners on agricultural innovation and global food security.

CETA

Outside of the area of agri-food, that statement welcomed Ireland’s progress towards ratification of the Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and "emphasized its role in supporting jobs; small and medium sized enterprises; stronger trade ties; and economic growth".

However, that trade deal has not been without controversy.

In November last year, the government approved a bill which would enable the ratification of CETA.

Tánaiste and then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris said that at the time: "The aim of this bill is to allow us proceed with ratifying CETA and other similar agreements with investment protection provisions.

"This is a priority for the government, not least against the background of today’s volatile international trading environment," he said.

However, the Social Democrats claimed at the time that the government was trying to railroad the ratification of CETA.

A Social Democrats spokesperson described the government's attempt to ratify the agreement without pre-legislative scrutiny as "a deeply cynical move".

"Previous attempts...to ram through CETA were stopped in their tracks by political opposition and a successful legal challenge in the Supreme Court in 2022, which found elements of the agreement to be unconstitutional," the spokesperson added.

The party has raised concerns over a highly controversial 'Investor Court System'.

The spokesperson claimed that this will "allow large corporations to leapfrog domestic and EU courts and take cases against governments to tribunals when policy decisions impact their bottom line".