A TD has claimed that "all the signs" point to Ireland being "coerced" into accepting the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement.

Independent TD for Offaly Carol Nolan was responding to reports that the European Commission wanted to sign off on the trade aspects of the deal by the end of the year.

According to Nolan, this is a "clear sign that the Irish government and Irish farmers will have the deeply unfavourable terms of the agreement upon them by year's end".

The TD claimed that, in the event the trade deal is ratified by the European Parliament and a qualified majority of member states (representing 15 member states who account for 65% of the EU's population), it will "all but guarantee that 2026 may be the beginning of the end for many Irish beef farmers".

Nolan said these farmers will "simply not be able to complete with a market saturated in cheap and poor-quality Brazilian beef".

The deal will, among many other trade provisions, decrease the tariff on beef from Mercosur to 7.5%, up to 99,000t carcass weight.

"Our interests have been so completely subordinated to EU interests, and the interests of the German automobile industry in particular, and to such a degree that no rational analysis can support the view that the commission is anything other than a hostile actor with respect to its engagement on Irish agriculture," Nolan claimed.

"In September all of the talk was about the so-called 'emergency break' that will be pulled if the Irish market is overwhelmed. Now all of the talk is about hitting the accelerator to get the deal ratified and to hell with consequences for Ireland," she added.

Nolan called on the government to put supports in place for Irish farmers.

"The government must now do what it can to maximise the size of the support package that will be put in place following the imposition of this deal while continuing to work, even in these difficult circumstances, toward achieving mitigation on the most punitive elements of this trade deal," she said.