Ahead of the No to Mercosur rally in Athlone this weekend organised by Independent Ireland, IFA president Francie Gorman said that comments by the Taoiseach Micheál Martin, which indicated that the Government would have to factor in the EU Commission decision on the nitrates derogation into its thinking on Mercosur, were totally unacceptable.

“These are two separate and distinct issues. For the Taoiseach to appear to link them is utterly unacceptable. There is a clear commitment on both issues in the Programme for Government,” he said.

“The Taoiseach must now clarify if he has done some backroom deal with Ursula von der Leyen to back Mercosur and to sell out Ireland’s beef and poultry farmers,” he said.

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The IFA president held discussions in Brussels last month with the EU Commission, including Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen and Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic, after the protest organised by COPA.

“I attended as vice president of COPA and re-stated the total opposition of Irish farmers to the Mercosur deal.”

‘Fig leaf’

The Taoiseach’s comments about the supposed safeguards are also misguided. “These proposed tweaks to the misleadingly named ‘safeguard’ clause are purely cosmetic. The Taoiseach seems to be trying to use these tweaks as a fig leaf to get him out of the commitment made in the Programme for Government,” he said.

“The delay in ratifying the Mercosur deal underlines the opposition to it. Now is the time for the Taoiseach to re-affirm the commitment in the PfG and to work with like-minded member states to see it off,” he said.