International Developments: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21
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Paul Lawless (AON), Mayo

I am just off a plane from Strasbourg. Over the past number of days, I met many MEPs who were wavering and on the fence in relation to this issue, who abstained in the previous vote and who said "I hear your prime minister is against Mercosur, but where is he? How come he never reached out to us?" How is it the case that the programme for Government explicitly states that the Government will work proactively. It took the Opposition, smaller parties and Independents to lead the charge on this, not the Government with all of its power, with the apparatus of the State and the Department of foreign affairs, etc. It is incredibly disappointing. I heard the Minister of State's comment in reply to Deputy Collins and would like to make this point to him.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-21