Stanley echoes concerns over ‘Mercosur’ deal
Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley
ON foot of the EU Council’s recent approval of the Mercosur trade deal – a 25 years in the making trade deal between the EU and a number of South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay â independent TD Brian Stanley has echoed the concerns that many farming and environmental groups across Ireland have raised.
In a recent address to the Dáil, he harkened back to 1973 when Ireland joined the EU and expressed the view that the founding principles were based around trade being both free within the customs territory but also fair between the various states of Europe. ‘‘However, with substandard products coming in from outside, it is not harmonised. The Mercosur deal completely undermines it,’’ argues Mr Stanley.
Mr Stanley makes the argument that Irish farmers – and, indeed, farmers across the EU â will be forced to compete with 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 distortions.’’ In his opposition to the deal, Mr Stanley highlighted the fact that Irish meat is produced under strict rules of tag and trace and must have prescriptions for what they give to cattle and then he contrasts this state of affairs with a recent alleged case of Brazilian beef with banned hormones entering the Irish market, which Mr Stanley claims is now being investigated by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
The beef in question originated in Northern Ireland, originally from a consignment that had been treated with the growth hormone oestradiol, a growth-promoting hormone banned in the EU, which was distributed to three operators in the Republic in September.
‘‘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 asked. The independent TD was also full of criticism for the government and especially Micheal Martin. ‘‘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.’’ In his address, he further highlighted the lack of opposition from elected representatives, saying that ahead of the vote in the European Parliament on Mercosur, which could conceivably prevent the deal from being implemented, several government MEPs were continuing to express their intention to support it – including Barry Andrews and Regiina Doherty.
‘‘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,’’ said Mr Andrews.
At the very least, Mr Andrews believes that the Department of Enterprise and Trade must clearly label all beef and poultry products that originate from Mercosur countries so that consumers can make an informed decision themselves.
