Taoiseach criticised over stance on Mercosur deal

Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for agriculture and rural development has criticised what he said is the failure of Taoiseach Simon Harris to completely oppose the Mercosur Deal.

Martin Kenny’s comments come after attending yesterday’s Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) conference on ‘Farming and Food’ at The Curragh in Co. Kildare. 

Deputy Kenny said: “This conference was a great opportunity to meet farmers and hear the contributions of experts from right across the production sector.   

“Before entering politics, I worked in the horticulture sector for some time growing mushrooms along with living in a rural community that is dependent on the agricultural economy. This gave me a personal understanding of the difficulties facing producers. 

“Whether a producer of vegetables, meat, or dairy, the overarching issue at that time facing farmers and agricultural workers was price volatility.”

The Sinn Féin TD said that the increase in production costs, and farmers’ inability to get a “fair” price for their produce is leading many to leave the sector, or for their children to make the decision not to take over the family farm.

“After this conference, it is clear that this is still one of the main issues facing producers, along with the clear concern around the effects on Ireland from the Mercosur deal.” Kenny continued.

“I was extremely disappointed that the Taoiseach did not give a firm commitment to completely oppose the Mercosur deal today. Sinn Féin [has] been, and will continue to be, in complete opposition to this deal. 

“The risks to Ireland from the entry of South American beef into the EU market cannot be underestimated,” he added.

Kenny criticised what he described as the delays in payments, incompetency in the administration of departmental and EU schemes, and a failure to tackle the threat of the Mercosur Deal.

He said all of these issues are continuing to cause deep concern among agricultural stakeholders. 

“These are long-standing issues that this government has failed to address. With an election close, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have now run out of time to solve the difficulties facing Irish agriculture,” he concluded.