An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-22
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Joanne Collins (SF), Agricultural Panel

I want to acknowledge the achievement and work carried out by my two colleagues, MEPs Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion, on getting the Mercosur trade deal referred to the European Court of Justice. I was disappointed that four Irish MEPs voted against that move.
As we have spoken about here, Mercosur is not a good deal for Ireland. It is not a good deal for our farmers or for rural Ireland. This is not over. Just because it has been referred to the court, it does not mean it will not go through. The deal could be implemented on a provisional basis by the European Commission. It will need member state backing to do that, more than likely. The Government needs to do what it did not do last time. It needs to pull the finger out - excuse the expression - to get on to other European countries and get a blocking minority. We cannot have this deal go through. It will be detrimental to rural Ireland, our farmers and other European countries. For the health of our people, we need to know what is coming into the country and what we are consuming. We need to have this deal stopped. I ask for the Government and Minister for agriculture to do what they did not do last time and build a blocking minority.
While I am on the subject of Brazilian beef, it is shocking to hear of the chair of Bord Bia. While in a State position to promote Irish food, alcohol and drink, he was at the same time promoting Brazilian beef in his own company. It is absolutely shocking. I cannot wait to see what happens at Bord Bia's meeting today. If he does not step down, I would expect the Minister for agriculture to step in and demand he does.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:32+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-22