Mayo TD to address national protest in Athlone
Deputy Paul Lawless is set to be the only TD from Mayo to address the national protest against the EU-Mercosur trade deal in Athlone this Saturday. The Aontú TD said the Government’s late announcement that it will now oppose the Mercosur deal exposes how close Irish agriculture came to being sacrificed, not on the basis of evidence or principle, but only halted by political pressure.
Deputy Lawless said it is deeply troubling that, even in recent days, the Government was prepared to consider supporting Mercosur despite mounting warnings about its impact on farmers, consumers and food standards.
“The most revealing fact today is not that the Government has moved — it is how yesterday it refused to,” he said.
“This was not a conversion of conscience. It was a calculation of consequences.”
Deputy Lawless said the agreement would expose Irish farmers to unfair competition from South American beef and poultry produced under systems that would not be permitted in Ireland.
“Irish beef is not a commodity of convenience. It is a premium product, built on generations of skill, has some of the strongest regulations in the world, and a reputation for quality that Ireland enjoys on every major market.
We have earned that standing by accepting rules others are not asked to follow. Mercosur threatened to replace excellence with expedience.”
“Ireland’s livestock sector operates under strict controls on traceability, hormones, antibiotics, animal welfare and environmental protection. Serious concerns have long been raised at EU level about oversight, hormone use and production practices in parts of the Mercosur bloc.”
“We are being asked to accept that food produced under looser conditions should compete directly with food produced under the toughest. That is not competition; it is dilution. It turns a gold standard into a bargaining chip.”
Deputy Lawless said the most alarming aspect of the past week has been the Government’s willingness, until the eleventh hour, to contemplate supporting the deal even after serious food-safety concerns were highlighted.
The Aontú TD said:
“Recent reporting by the Irish Farmers Journal revealed that Brazilian beef found on sale in Ireland tested positive for a banned, carcinogenic growth hormone. That should have ended the discussion immediately.
If beef linked to substances banned in the EU since 1981 can already reach Irish shelves under existing controls, then proposing to dramatically expand that trade is indefensible. It is bewildering that a Mercosur vote was even entertained while such failures remained unresolved.”
He added that the Government feared a political fallout.
“What finally forced movement was not the health of consumers or the survival of family farms, but the threat that Government support of this could bring the government down, fearing the judgement of a right-thinking people pressuring them. That is not leadership. That is a late recognition of reality.”
Deputy Lawless confirmed he will attend and address this Saturday’s national protest against Mercosur in Athlone and said the demonstration remains vital.
“This campaign has already shown what public pressure can do. But this fight is not over. We must ensure Mercosur is not revived quietly, repackaged later, or traded away behind closed doors.
This Saturday must be a show of strength. I urge as many people as possible to come to Athlone and make their voices heard. Ireland will be watching. Our Government will be watching. And history will judge whether, when our world-renowned farming and agricultural heritage was placed in jeopardy, we stood idle — or stood together.
“This Saturday, the voice of rural Ireland must be heard — clearly, peacefully and in numbers.”
Deputy Lawless concluded:
“This episode should be a warning. Irish farming and Irish food standards cannot depend on last-minute rebellions. They deserve firm, consistent defence. I will continue to oppose Mercosur because Ireland’s farmers, standards and reputation are not bargaining chips.”