'Put Waterford farmers first' - TD's warning over EU trade deal
Deputy McGuinness has urged fellow Waterford TDs to reject the agreement, noting it was a 'bad deal' for Irish and EU consumers.
Waterford TD Conor McGuinness has called on fellow TDs Mary Butler and John Cummins to reject a proposed EU trade agreement that could effect Irish farmers.
The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Rural Affairs, Community Development and the Gaeltacht made the comments as part of his party's motion to reject the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. He said: "Any TD who claims to stand with farm families and rural communities cannot, in good conscience, hide behind government spin while a deal of this scale threatens livelihoods across the South-East.”
The deal could see a huge surge of beef imports from Argentina and Brazil into the EU, which would impact on Irish farmers. The deal has also raised concerns for the potential environmental impact.
Deputy McGuinness commented: "The Mercosur trade agreement is a bad deal for Irish agriculture, it’s a bad deal for Irish and EU consumers and it’s a bad deal for the environment. Sinn Féin’s motion today is calling for cross-party support to send a clear message that Ireland opposes this deal.
“Government’s response to Mercosur so far has been lacklustre. They have taken a sit-back-and-wait approach rather than fighting for the interests of Irish farmers and their position of opposing the deal in its current form is no longer tenable.
The former Dungarvan councillor went on: "Negotiations are finished, the deal is done and now is the time to decide if you are for or against the deal.
“We all know that Irish beef is produced to a world-class standard and it will be expected to compete against cheap, substandard beef from South America that is produced to poor animal welfare standards with little or no traceability regulations."
The motion by Sinn Féin is urging the Government to reject the agreement over concerns about damaging the Irish and European Union consumer and it's environmental consequences: "The Mercosur Agreement is at odds with EU and Irish domestic climate legislation and will lead to greater deforestation and environmental destruction in the Mercosur countries."
Deputy McGuinness noted that it was 'not too late' for the deal to be scrapped: "It is not too late to stop this deal, and the Irish Government should be doing everything it can and engage with other member states to form a blocking minority at the EU Council meeting in December."
