Minister Frank Feighan welcomes decision by Irish Government to vote against Mercosur

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

Speaking in the wake of the Irish Governments decision to vote against the proposed EU-Mercosur trade deal, Minister of State Frank Feighan said, “The Programme for Government was always clear; it did not support the deal in the form in which it was presented.”

“Despite much work and interaction over recent weeks, the Taoiseach, Minister Martin Heydon, Minister Helen McEntee and my party leader and Tánaiste have been intensively engaged, working right across the system to secure the best possible outcome for Ireland. That work has been carried out by engaging closely with like-minded countries that share our concerns and working constructively to secure additional safeguards that would address the very real concerns of our citizens, particularly in relation to standards, fairness, and protections.

“Unfortunately, the outcome in this negotiation is that although the EU has agreed to a number of additional measures, they are not sufficient to satisfy our citizens.

“I want to acknowledge the numerous phone calls, texts and emails from so many constituents that I have received, expressing their concern for our agricultural sector and for food safety if the trade deal was to proceed and their strong wish that the Irish Government would vote against Mercosur.

“I want to state that I expressed those concerns back directly to my ministerial colleagues and I am glad that the decision not to support the Mercosur deal in its present format was upheld.

“In conclusion, I can confirm that I have been in touch with our two MEPs, Maria Walshe and Nina Carberry and they have stated that they will not support the trade deal when it comes before them for ratification in the parliament.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.