The EU-Mercosur trade deal is the first big threat facing farmers after the general election, according to Independent Ireland candidate for Clare, Eddie Punch.
As polling day approaches on Friday (November 29), Punch has claimed that “the big parties”, referring to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael “cannot be trusted to back farmers” when it comes to the controversial deal.
“The big parties don’t want to discuss the fact that [EU Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen, who comes from the same EU political grouping as Fine Gael, is working hard to deliver a work-around on the Mercosur deal which would by-pass the opportunity for parliaments or government to block the deal,” he said.
Independent Irish MEP Michael McNamara has previously warned of this threat and suggested that the Irish government will need to take a legal case to the European Courts to stop this happening.
Mercosur deal
Punch said that “none of the traditional parties want to discuss this because it is obvious they will let farmers down when it comes to the crunch”.
“They let them down on the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), and there is no evidence they will do any different on Mercosur.”
“I remember being part of a protest against Mercosur outside the Dáil in 2016 and the number of TDs that came to support us was very few,” he said.
Punch also took aim at “the sudden willingness of big parties to promise farmers the sun, moon and stars”.
“The reality is that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have bent over backwards to accommodate the Green agenda in government,” he said.
The former general secretary of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) said that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan was “a creation of the civil service, which Minister [for agriculture Charlie] McConalogue went along with” and was “too full of red tape”.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin spokesperson for Agriculture and Rural Development Martin Kenny has criticised Independent Ireland MEP Ciarán Mullooly for abstaining in yesterday’s vote in the European Parliament.
The vote centred on approving the new European Commission, a commission which Kenny said is “supporting and progressing the EU-Mercosur trade deal”.
Deputy Kenny said that he was “absolutely astounded” by the decision of the Independent Ireland MEP, adding that Sinn Féin MEPs voted “against the ratification of the pro-Mercosur commission”.
“Independent Ireland, a party who are parading themselves as a voice for rural Ireland, refused to vote against a commission which is aggressively pushing a trade deal that will decimate the Irish beef export market.
“Any representative who claims to be a voice for farmers would oppose Mercosur at every hands turn. Yet when Independent Ireland had their chance today, they decided to abstain.
“Where was the farmer’s voice in that abstention? It was silenced yet again,” he said.
Deputy Kenny also said that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael “will not put on record any complete opposition to Mercosur”, but the leaders of both parties are opposed to the controversial deal in its current form.
“Let me be clear yet again – Sinn Féin will oppose Mercosur, full stop. Our opposition to this trade deal is not conditional,” he said.
Commenting on his decision to abstain, MEP Michael McNamara, said that he has written to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asking her to rule out “splitting” of the trade deal.
He said that this move would result in trade-related aspects wouldn’t require unanimous approval from member states, with member states only having a say on less-pressing aspects of the deal.
Ciaran Mullooly said that his decision to abstain was based on his “serious concerns about the lack of clear commitment and transparency from both the incoming commission and the Taoiseach (Simon Harris) regarding the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement”.
The MEP also expressed misgivings about the potential splitting of the deal.