The government is being called on to “immediately end” any further progress of the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement, which would allow a further 99,000t of tariff-free beef into the EU market.
Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture Matt Carthy has accused the government of “paying lip service” to climate as it relates to an EU trade agenda that includes the agreement with Mercosur countries – namely Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Carthy said that it is “beyond ironic” that there is discussion in Ireland on the role of agriculture in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while the Brazilian meat industry is increasing its cattle herd.
“Due to pressure from farm organisations and Sinn Féin, government ministers have told the Dáil that they are now opposed to the EU-Mercosur trade deal. But they have yet to act on this and tell the European Commission.”
Carthy was speaking after receiving a reply to a parliamentary question from Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, who said that the commission has engaged with Mercosur countries on “negotiating further enforceable commitments on climate and deforestation”.
According to Carthy, the Tánaiste’s response indicated that the government is “backsliding” on its opposition to the trade deal and “will now be contented with new so-called commitments from Mercosur states”.
“Pound for pound, the beef produced through Irish suckler herds is significantly more sustainable than that which this deal would replace them with. There are no commitments that would sufficient to justify such a replacement,” Carthy said.
“[The commission] has indicated that [it] expects the EU-Mercosur trade deal to advance by the end of this year, thereby facilitating the importation of a significant amount of that Brazilian beef into Europe.
“Irish farmers can and must take measures to reduce emissions. But we cannot expect those actions to be taken while the commission is preparing to sign off on a trade deal that will undo any positive impact of our domestic actions,” the Sinn Féin deputy added.
He called on the government to use its veto on this trade deal to “end any further progress on this disastrous agreement”.
“The Mercosur trade deal offers nothing positive for Ireland. It is bad for our most important indigenous sector, bad for our overall economy and disastrous for the environment. It must be rejected now,” Carthy commented.