Sinn Féin to attend anti-Mercosur deal protest on Saturday
Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald has confirmed that representatives from the party will attend this weekend's protest against the EU-Mercosur deal.
The demonstration against the controversial trade agreement in Athlone, Co. Westmeath on Saturday (January 10) has been organised by Independent Ireland.
Organisers are expecting around 10,000 people to attend the event.
Sinn Féin
Deputy Mary Lou McDonald said that "Sinn Féin will stand with farmers, farm families and rural communities" to oppose the EU-Mercosur deal.
"This deal is a direct threat to the future of the Irish family farm, to Irish rural jobs, to Irish consumer confidence and to the environmental standards people in Ireland rightly expect.
"The government cannot continue to fudge its position on this major issue. It must vote against Mercosur and it must work actively with like-minded member states to form a blocking minority to stop this deal at EU level.
"That is what Sinn Féin has demanded in the Dáil and it is what we will keep demanding until the government finally stands up for Irish farming families and Irish consumers," she said.
The comments come as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon said he will seek assurances on the trade deal during a meeting of EU ministers for agriculture in Brussels today (Wednesday, January 7).
It is expected that EU member states could vote on ratifying the agreement on Friday.
Farmers
Deputy McDonald said the core issue is fairness and safety standards.
"Irish farmers are being asked to compete against imports produced to different rules, with weaker enforcement and lower costs, while Irish producers are held to ever-higher standards. That is not ‘free trade’ – it is rigged trade.
"Sinn Féin has been consistently opposed to Mercosur because it risks undercutting Irish beef and other farm sectors, and because it raises serious concerns around traceability, food safety and environmental harm, including deforestation.
“Ireland should be defending high standards at home and abroad – not signing up to an agreement that encourages a race to the bottom," she said.
The Sinn Féin leader commended those organising this Saturday's protest.
"The message needs to be heard clearly – Irish farmers and rural communities will not be sacrificed to a trade deal that delivers profits for big business while leaving Irish producers to carry the cost," she said.
Mercosur
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture and Food, Martin Kenny has expressed concern about how the EU Council intends to ratify the deal.
"It is outrageous that the EU Council is going to rush through the ratification of the Mercosur trade agreement on Friday without holding an EU Council meeting to discuss or debate the deal.
"It is now going to be left to civil servants appointed by each member state to come to an agreement in principle on the deal and for each member state to submit their position and vote in writing to the council.
“Unsurprisingly, we still don’t know the official position of the Irish government despite Sinn Fein requesting that the government state its position on numerous occasions in the Dáil," he said.
