Tipperary TD warns Mercosur trade deal threatens Irish farming and rural communities

Tipperary TD Seamus Healy yesterday has issued a stark warning in the Dáil about the Mercosur Trade Agreement, saying it “threatens the future of Irish agriculture and Irish farm families” and will cause lasting harm to rural communities.

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Speaking on a motion on the agreement, Deputy Healy stated the European Commission concluded negotiations with the four Mercosur countries in December 2024, at a time when the deal was to be subject to approval by national parliaments and unanimity at EU level.

He said this safeguard was removed following “a political stroke in September 2025”, when the agreement was split into two parts. As a result, he said, “national parliaments would have no say in the ratification of the deal and only a qualified majority would be required at EU level”.

The Deputy pointed to the scale of agricultural imports allowed under the agreement, warning that “the importation of 99,000 tonnes of beef and 180,000 tonnes of poultry into the EU will have serious detrimental effects on Irish agriculture”.

He added that these volumes were “only the thin end of the wedge” and said they raised “the appalling vista of the devastation of the Irish fishing industry”. He asked: “Are we seeing here the real start of the devastation of Irish agriculture?”

Deputy Healy also highlighted concerns about food safety and production standards, stating that imported agricultural products from Mercosur countries are “often produced using chemicals that have been banned in the EU”.

He referred to an EU audit carried out in 2024 which found that “Brazil cannot reliably trace or guarantee hormone-free beef”, yet under the agreement exporters would be allowed to “self-certify compliance with EU regulations”.

He argued that the deal “effectively trades off the future of Irish agriculture and rural communities” in return for gains elsewhere, namely “the benefits of the export of cars, machinery, chemicals and steel to the Mercosur countries by the big European powers and economies”. He said this amounted to “further confirmation of the erosion of Irish sovereignty”.

The Deputy was sharply critical of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s efforts to travel to South America to finalise the agreement, describing it as “an insult to the elected Members of the European Parliament” which “seriously undermines democracy”.

He said trust in European institutions had been “seriously damaged not only by the handling of this Mercosur deal but also by the EU’s ability to manage trade partnerships arising from the genocide in Gaza”.

He also dismissed proposed safeguard clauses in the agreement, saying they “cannot be taken seriously when the EU did not suspend trade with Israel despite the genocide in Gaza”. Deputy Healy concluded that “Irish MEPs must be mandated to oppose this deal”.

At present, the Mercosur agreement has not yet entered into force. EU member states have moved to clear the agreement at Council level in January 2026, with a formal signing expected later this month, but the deal still requires the consent of the European Parliament before it can take effect.

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