Sinn Féin: Tánaiste must commit to rejecting Mercosur deal
Sinn Féin has said that if Tánaiste Simon Harris is serious about supporting farmers then he must commit to rejecting the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
The party's spokesperson on agriculture Martin Kenny called on Harris to support Sinn Féin's Dáil motion next week to reject the controversial deal.
The comments come as the Tánaiste addressed a Fine Gael conference on agriculture and rural development in Kildare today (Saturday, November 15).
During his speech, Harris acknowledged Mercosur as one of the key issues facing Irish farmers.
Sinn Féin
Deputy Martin Kenny urged the Tánaiste to clearly state his position on Mercosur.
"Will he stand up for Irish farmers at next month's EU council meeting and vote against the Mercosur trade agreement?
"The Tánaiste and the government’s current position of opposing the deal in its current form is unacceptable.
"The negotiations are over, the deal is done and it is a bad deal for Irish and EU farmers.
"We need to know that the Tánaiste and the government are not going to sell out our farmers so that German car manufacturers can sell more cars in South America," he said.
Mercosur
Deputy Kenny said the trade deal "will have a devastating impact on Irish agriculture".
He said that Irish beef which is "produced to a world class standard" will be expected to compete against "cheap substandard beef" from South America.
"It is not too late to stop this deal, and the Irish government should be doing everything it can to form alliances with other member states to block this deal at the EU council meeting in December.
"Sinn Féin is tabling a private members' motion in the Dail next week to oppose the Mercosur trade agreement and we are looking for cross party support for the motion," he added.
