Brian Stanley warns Mercosur will flood Ireland with substandard meat
Brian Stanley criticised the Mercosur trade deal, saying it will allow substandard beef and chicken into the Irish market and undermine Irish farming standards. He urged the government and its MEPs to oppose the deal and to prevent imports that breach Irish food safety and environmental norms.
Key objections
The EU single market was presented as free and fair trade with harmonised standards, but Stanley argued Mercosur undermines that promise by permitting lower-standard products. He warned that imports produced to lower environmental and animal health standards will distort domestic markets and put Irish farmers at a disadvantage.
Import volumes and market distortion
Stanley cited specific figures, saying the deal would permit the importation of 99,000 tonnes of beef and 180,000 tonnes of chicken produced to lower standards. He said Irish farmers operate under strict tagging, tracing and prescription rules and described this as a case of double standards that will cause market distortion.
Food safety concerns
He highlighted recent revelations that Brazilian beef entered the Irish food chain with banned hormones and noted the Food Safety Authority is investigating. Stanley told the minister that those findings should set off alarm bells and used them to question the deal's suitability for the Irish market.
Government and MEP positions
Stanley criticised the government for responding late, saying the Taoiseach appeared ready to support the deal up to 24 hours before the vote. He pointed to mixed signals from government MEPs, naming Barry Andrews and Regina Doherty as saying they will vote for the deal, and noted a former minister, now a commissioner, welcomed the EU Council vote.
Demands and next steps
He called on the government to ensure all government MEPs vote against Mercosur in the European Parliament and urged lobbying across political persuasions to form a blocking majority. If the agreement passes at EU level, Stanley insisted the government must act to prevent substandard beef and poultry entering the Irish market.
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The EU single market when we joined it back in 1972, it's supposed to be free trade between the states of Europe, but also fair trade. And all treaties since underline that. But that's what it's sold as, a level playing pitch with standards harmonised. But with substandard products coming in from outside, it's not harmonised. The Mercosur deal completely undermines this. Farmers 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. And we all know what that means. Irish farmers produce meat under strict rules of tagging, tracing, having to have prescriptions on what to give to cattle, etc. And here we have double standards. And what's the justification for this? The revelations recently that Brazilian beef came in with banned hormones and it came in to enter the Irish food chain, that's now being investigated by the Food Safety Authority. That should set off alarm bells, Minister. And what justification is there for further destruction of the rainforests and the carbon footprint to haul food halfway across the world to get it to here? We're already producing loads of it here. And what's not clear is why it took the government so long to express its opposition to Mercosur. This has been in the Macon for six or seven years. Up to 24 hours prior to the vote, Michal Martin's words were those of a man ready to vote for it. And there's confusion in government about this because Barry Andrews, MEP, and Regina Doherty, Fine Gael, MEP, say they're going to vote for it. That's what they're doing. Former Minister, former Fianna Fáil Minister, Michael McGrath, now a Commissioner, welcomed the EU Council vote on Mercosur. So the government now needs to get their act together and ensure that all government MEPs vote against Mercosur when it comes to the European Parliament. Lobby MEPs have all political persuasions to form a blocking majority at the EU level. And in the event of a getting through being passed at the European Parliament, the government needs to act to prevent substandard beef and poultry mentoring the Irish market.
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