Laois representative insists Government needs to "get its act together" on Mercosur

The Government must get all its MEPs to vote against the Mercosur trade deal that farmers in Laois and other counties warn will see unsafe, cheap beef coming to Ireland from South America, damaging Irish agriculture in the process.

So believes independent Laois TD Brian Stanley who outlined what he sees as the damage to agriculture in Laois and other counties and the harm to the environment that will happen if Mercosur is passed in the European Parliament.

"When we joined the EU Single Market back in 1973, there was supposed to be free trade, but also fair trade, between the states of Europe, and all treaties since underlined that. The Single Market was sold as a level playing pitch with standards harmonised," he said.

The Portlaoise-based representative claimed substandard products coming in from outside does the opposite.

The Mercosur deal completely undermines it. Farmers are having to compete with food produced to lower standards from other countries. The importation of 99,000 tonnes of beef and 180,000 tonnes of chicken, produced at lower environmental and animal health standards, will cause market distortion. We all know what that means.

"Irish farmers produce meat under strict rules of tag and trace and must have prescriptions for what they give to cattle. Here we have double standards. What is the justification for this? The revelations recently that Brazilian beef with banned hormones entered the Irish food chain are now being investigated by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. That should set off alarm bells," he said. MORE BELOW PHOTO.

Knock Vintage Club Men’s Shed members pictured with Barry Cowen MEP, Deputies, Brian Stanley, Willie Aird and Sean Fleming; Councillors Padraig Fleming, Barry Walsh, Caroline Dwane-Stanley and John Joe Fennelly; IFA president Francie Gorman; Gillian Cunningham, LOETB and Dan Bergin Laois PPN at the Knock Vintage Club Men’s Shed open evening. Picture: Alf Harvey.

He asked: "What justification is there for further destruction of the rainforest and the carbon footprint required to haul food halfway across the world to get it here when we are already producing loads of it?"

He was not convinced by the Government's stance.

"What is not clear is why it took the Government so long to express its opposition to the Mercosur deal. This deal has been in the making for six or seven years. Up to 24 hours prior to the vote, Micheál Martin's words were those of a man ready to vote for it," he said.

The TD also demanded that this change, to block the deal, as most political parties in Ireland have called for in support of farmers led by IFA President and Laois man Francie Gorman.

"There is confusion in Government about this because Barry Andrews Fianna Fáil MEP and Regina Doherty, a Fine Gael MEP, have said they are going to vote for the deal. Former Fianna Fáil Minister Michael McGrath, now a commissioner, welcomed the EU Council vote on Mercosur.

READ ALSO: Mercosur no vote right call for Laois farmers, insists Laois representative

"The Government needs to get its act together and ensure that all Government MEPs vote against the Mercosur deal when it comes to the European Parliament. It should lobby MEPs of all political persuasions to form a blocking majority at EU level. In the event of the deal being passed at the European Parliament, the Government needs to act to prevent substandard beef and poultry from entering the Irish market,” he said.

Following the Dáil debate, Dep Stanley called on the Department of Enterprise and Trade to insist on clear labelling of beef and poultry produce so that shoppers can see exactly what the country of origin is.